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Ohio Lawmakers Seek To Allow Ballot Selfies With Proposal
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Two Ohio lawmakers want to change a state law in an effort to clear the way for voters to take “ballot selfies.”
Republican Reps. Niraj Antani of Miamisburg and Mike Duffey of Worthington are sponsoring a bill they say will let voters photograph and make public their marked ballots.
Ohio has a longstanding prohibition against electors letting their ballot be seen by another person with the “apparent intention” of letting it be known how they are about to vote. The penalty is a fifth-degree felony. The law is intended to prevent voter intimidation and fraud.
The state’s elections chief has advised local election boards to consult their own attorneys about how to apply the law.
The bill’s sponsors say they want to “decriminalize free speech.”