It is a felony to take a picture of your ballot in Ohio. Some lawmakers plan to sponsor a bill to allow voters to take those pictures if they want. But there’s a reason that law exists.
Attorney General spokesman Dan Tierney says Ohio’s law against taking pictures of ballots was not meant to stifle free speech of voters.
“It was intended to protect voters who may try to intimidate them to vote a certain way.”
Tierney explains Ohio’s law goes back to the days of Tammany Hall, the famous political machine in New York that coerced and bribed people to vote a certain way. Some Ohio lawmakers plan to introduce a bill that would remove the ban on taking pictures of ballots but would leave laws against coercion and intimidation intact. But it won’t be taken up till after this upcoming election.
