Oklahoma became the latest state to put a roadblock in the way of taking selfies in the voting booth — because why would it want to do anything that attracts young voters to the polls?
Gov. Mary Fallin’s first veto of the Legislative session came last week as she nixed a bill sponsored by Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Depew, that would’ve allowed voters to take cellphone photos of themselves with completed ballots and publish them on social media.
“I am concerned how this potentially opens up the voting process for voter intimidation and propaganda electioneering,” Fallin said in her veto message.
A tale as old as time. Who can forget the first time you were offered money to vote for a candidate, but only if there is proof that the whole world can see? Who knew the only way to prove that you’ve successfully engineered an election is by refreshing your Twitter feed?
If the state follows up on Fallin’s edict to enact a law prohibiting photography in the voting booth, they might be hearing from lawyers with social media app Snapchat, which filed an amicus brief in New Hampshire supporting the state’s decision to overturn a ban on such photos.
“It is precisely because a ballot selfie proves how a voter has exercised [their] franchise that it is an unmatched expression of civic engagement,” Snapchat’s brief said, according to The New York Times. “There is, simply put, no substitute for this speech.”
The 2018 statewide elections figure to be highly contentious following the unfulfilled demands of the teacher walkout, and the last thing the GOP wants to do is incentivize young, more progressive-leaning voters to the polls.
