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A Kalazmoo area man is suing Michigan in federal court for the right to take “ballot selfies” at the voting booth, the Detroit News reports.
The state has a long-standing ban on voting station and polling place photography.
Joel Crookston, 32, of Portage, filed suit in federal court in Grand Rapids last month, claiming his First Amendment right to free speech was unconstitutionally limited by state law and policies designed to discourage voter intimidation, reports Jonathan Oosting writes at The Detroit News:
The Michigan law and policy “are justified by the state’s long-standing interest in protecting the secrecy of the ballot and protecting those who seek to exercise their right to vote from distraction, harassment, or intimidation,” Attorney General Bill Schuette wrote in a court filing, defending Secretary of State Ruth Johnson.
A federal appeals court last week struck down a similar law in New Hampshire, noting the state could not document a single instance of voter intimidation related to ballot photos posted on social media.
