GRAND RAPIDS (WKZO-AM) — It has been illegal in Michigan to snap a photo of someone voting since 1891 under a law designed at the time to protect the secret ballot from this new-fangled technology called a camera.
Now in the age of selfies, Joel Crookston of Portage is challenging the constitutionality of the rarely-enforced law.
Crookston’s attorney, Steve Klein, is asking the U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids for a quick decision so that anyone who wants to will be able to snap their own picture while at the polls in next month’s election.
They claim it’s a violation of the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech.
The current law states that taking a photo not only invalidates the ballot, but it’s also a misdemeanor and subject to a $500 fine and 90 days in jail.
A Michigan Democrat had proposed a law that would have legalized cell phone use in polling places, but it was never taken up.
