Why Can’t I Take a Picture of My Ballot?

The answer to that question is simple, we must protect everyone’s right to a secret ballot. What inevitably follows this answer is, “I won’t show it to anyone.” Well, you may not, but others will by choice or by force.

This question usually comes up with the best of intentions. Trust in our elections took a huge dive after November of 2020. Voters want to ensure that their vote was counted correctly. They want a photo, a receipt, some kind of record of how their vote was cast. While this is an understandable request, it can have terrible consequences. 

Various groups load up vans and buses full of people to take to the polls. Some will offer food or drinks to encourage people to vote. This practice is legal as long as the group makes no attempt to influence the voter’s choices. Unfortunately, there are a lot of nefarious people willing to break the law to win the election. 

Whatever the level of influence, the voters are alone when they actually make their choices. They can vote the way their conscience dictates. No one will know otherwise. However, if those voters are allowed to take a picture of their ballots, that will no longer be the case. That picture will be necessary for their payment or ride home. 

Those voters still have a choice, though. They can simply refuse the ride, the food, the cash, whatever is on offer. Others may not be so fortunate. Failure to provide a picture with the “correct” choices could mean unemployment or eviction. We only have to look back a few years to know this is potentially a very real outcome. 

This is why laws were passed to protect the secrecy of the ballot. Bribery and coercion for votes was commonplace before these laws, and it still exists today. The difference now is that the voter is the only one who truly knows how that ballot was cast. It must stay that way.