Yes to ballot selfies.

• Author: Wilson, Ethan
• Position: Trends

Want to take a picture of your marked ballot before you leave the voting booth and post it on social media? Go right ahead.

A federal judge recently overturned a New Hampshire law banning all disclosure of one's ballot--including the so-called ballot selfie--saying the law violated the First Amendment right to free speech. The decision could spur sweeping changes to many states' voting laws.

District Judge Paul Barbadoro ruled that the ballot selfie is constitutionally protected political speech that can be restricted only by meeting the highest standard of scrutiny--that is, did the state have a compelling interest in restricting the photos? (When a judge requires strict scrutiny it generally sounds the death knell for the government action being challenged.)

Barbadoro concluded that because New Hampshire could not prove specific instances of vote buying, voter coercion or other fraud linked to ballot selfies, it did not have a compelling interest in restricting the photos. As political speech, ballot selfies command the same constitutional protection as other First Amendment rights.

Elections scholars disagree whether legalizing ballot...