RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A selfie sparks a lawsuit.
While selfies are a part of daily life, it’s illegal in North Carolina to take a picture with your ballot. But Susan Hogarth of Wake County disagrees with the law. She wants to see it overturned, which is why she’s suing both members of the Wake County Board of Elections and the State Board of Elections in federal court.
On March 5, Hogarth posted a selfie with her ballot on X, using an expletive to say how she felt about laws against ballot selfies. “It’s just a way of sort of celebrating and sharing,” she said. It was not the first time she’d taken a ballot selfie and posted it in an effort to get people excited about libertarians on the ballot, but it was the first time the State Board of Elections told her to take a post down. They sent her a letter saying she violated the law.
Jeff Zeman, Hogarth’s attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said the law is unconstitutional. “Ballot selfie bans turn innocent Americans into criminals for nothing more than showing their excitement about how they voted or even just showing that they voted,” Zelman said. “That’s core political speech protected by the First Amendment.”
When asked about the lawsuit, both the Wake County and State Boards of Elections told CBS 17 that they don’t comment on pending litigation.
According to FIRE, North Carolina is one of at least 14 states that prohibit pictures with a ballot. Some states explicitly allow pictures; others don’t have laws that specify. The North Board of Elections has said the law exists partly because the photo could prove a vote for a candidate in a vote-buying scheme. “It purports to answer a problem that I don’t think they have shown exists,” Hogarth said.
Hogarth plans to post her general election ballot and hopes by then it’s not illegal. “While I think privacy is important in society, I also think openness is important,” she said. “I think people are embracing that more and more.”
Under state law, taking a photograph of a filled-out ballot is a Class 1 Misdemeanor. Hogarth said she has not been charged with anything.
