In an age where social media sites such as Instagram are used to document every day occurrences, it may seem natural this election season to upload a picture of your marked ballot to the Internet. However, students may want to be wary of this practice, according to a Propublica article.
Under Oregon state law, uploading a picture of a marked ballot is illegal because it’s prohibited to show others a marked ballot.
Most states prohibit posting photos of marked ballots to the Internet, and in some, the crime is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $1,000 and a year in county jail. The laws are motivated by enforcement of voter confidentiality and are a precaution against vote buying, as those being bribed to vote a certain way could upload photographic evidence as proof.
According to University of Oregon senior Brendan Ostlund, the law may not be the best way to prevent the problem.@@http://uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Brendan%2AOstlund@@
“It’s an easy way to enforce it, but not an effective way,” he said. “Their intentions are correct, but that’s just an easy way to get around the problem.”
Junior Jessi Alden said that while the reasoning behind the law makes sense, it could be punishing those with innocent intentions.@@http://uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/jessi%2Aalden@@
“There’s a learning curve about social media, and we’re still learning what is and isn’t appropriate,” she said.