Can taking a selfie while voting get you in legal trouble in SC? What to know for Election Day

Election season is upon the United States and, in the digital age, it’s not uncommon to celebrate casting a ballot or urge others to do the same with pictures on social media. But some states have strict rules about what and where voters can photograph on Election Day.

South Carolina is one of 22 states where ballot selfies — pictures taken with completed election ballots — are illegal, according to nonprofit political encyclopedia Ballotpedia. On Election Day, here’s what you can capture for followers and what can get you into trouble in the Palmetto State.

Pictures of the ballot itself are prohibited under state law. According to the South Carolina Code of Laws, a voter allowing their ballot to be seen by a person is a misdemeanor. The law applies to both in-person and mail-in voting and, upon conviction, violators can be fined up to $100 or imprisoned for up to a year.

Pictures at the polling location are a little more complicated. According to South Carolina Election Commission voter outreach education coordinator Sydney Bain, voters can take pictures before voting, but only until they reach the area to check in.

“Pretty quickly, like as soon as you get through the doors, you’re hitting that check in station,” Bain said. “So that’s when we’re encouraging people to put their phones away.”

In addition to phones, voters are prohibited from using any electronic device that can capture picture or video. If someone has their phone or another unapproved device out, poll workers will encourage them to turn the device off or ask them to leave the polling location, according to Bain.

“We just don’t want any of the voting process being interfered with,” Bain said. “So someone taking a picture of their ballot and posting it on social media could create conflict. And so we really urge voters not to do that, and if they do do that, it kind of creates a conflict in the voting locations, but also for the process in itself.”

If you want to show off your civic pride, you can still pose outside your polling place or model your “I voted,” sticker.

This story was originally published September 21, 2024 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Can taking a selfie while voting get you in legal trouble in SC? What to know for Election Day."