A North Carolina woman has filed a lawsuit against the state’s elections board, challenging laws that prohibit most photography in polling places after she was asked to remove a “ballot selfie” she posted on social media during the March primary election.
The Lawsuit and Its Origins
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Eastern District Court of North Carolina by Susan Hogarth, a resident of Wake County, who alleges that the state’s restrictions on ballot photography are unconstitutional. Hogarth took the selfie in her voting booth on March 5, capturing her completed ballot, and later posted it on X (formerly Twitter) to endorse Libertarian Party candidates.
The legal action was prompted by a letter Hogarth says she received from the North Carolina State Board of Elections two weeks after her post. The letter, sent by a state Board of Elections investigator, asked her to take down the photo or face a potential misdemeanor charge. Hogarth refused, insisting that her right to share how she voted is protected by the First Amendment.
“It would have been easier to just take the post down,” Hogarth said in a statement. “But in a free society, you should be able to show the world how you voted without fear of punishment.”
North Carolina’s Restrictions on Polling Place Photography
Under North Carolina law, photography and videography of voters inside polling places are generally prohibited unless permission is granted by a precinct’s chief judge. The law also specifically bans the photographing of completed ballots, a measure the state elections board says is intended to prevent photos from being used as proof in vote-buying schemes.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections and the Wake County Board of Elections have declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.
National Context and Legal Challenges
North Carolina’s restrictions on ballot selfies are not unique; however, the legal landscape surrounding this issue is evolving. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, most states have passed laws allowing ballot selfies and other forms of polling place photography. Some states, like Arizona, have restrictions on photos taken within a certain distance of a polling place, while others, like Indiana, have seen similar laws struck down by federal courts as unconstitutional.
Hogarth’s lawsuit is backed by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which argues that North Carolina’s ballot photography laws violate the First Amendment. FIRE contends that the state must demonstrate significant concerns about vote-buying schemes to justify such restrictions on free speech.
“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,” said Jeff Zeman, an attorney at FIRE. “That’s core political speech protected by the First Amendment.”
