Assembly Bill A1038

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Relates to allowing voters to take photographs of themselves and their ballot, or absentee ballot, while in a privacy booth, and to share and disseminate such photographs on social media

download bill text pdf

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly Committee

  • Introduced
    • In Committee Assembly
    • In Committee Senate
    • On Floor Calendar Assembly
    • On Floor Calendar Senate
    • Passed Assembly
    • Passed Senate
  • Delivered to Governor
  • Signed By Governor

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2019-A1038 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Senate Version of this Bill:
S1105
Current Committee:
Assembly Election Law
Law Section:
Election Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §§8-300 & 17-130, El L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2017-2018: A4067, S5418
2021-2022: A4182, S365
2023-2024: A318, S661

2019-A1038 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Allows voters to take photographs of themselves and their ballot, or absentee ballot, while in a privacy booth, and to share and disseminate such photographs on social media.

2019-A1038 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1038
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 14, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Election Law
 
 AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to allowing voters to take
   photographs of themselves and their ballots while voting
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  8-300 of the election law is amended by adding a
 new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
   4. (A) A VOTER SHALL BE ALLOWED TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS OF THEMSELVES  AND
 THEIR  OWN  BALLOT,  OR  ABSENTEE BALLOT, WHILE IN A PRIVACY BOOTH. SUCH
 VOTER SHALL ALSO BE ALLOWED TO SHARE AND DISSEMINATE SUCH PHOTOGRAPHS ON
 SOCIAL MEDIA. FOR  PURPOSES  OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION  SOCIAL  MEDIA  SHALL
 INCLUDE,  BUT  SHALL  NOT  BE  LIMITED TO FORMS OF COMMUNICATION THROUGH
 WHICH USERS PARTICIPATE IN  ONLINE  COMMUNITIES  TO  SHARE  INFORMATION,
 IDEAS,  PERSONAL  MESSAGES,  AND  OTHER CONTENT. SOCIAL MEDIA SHALL ALSO
 INCLUDE TEXT MESSAGES AND THE  TRANSMISSION  OF  IMAGES  VIA  ELECTRONIC
 FORMS OF COMMUNICATION.
   (B)  ANY  PERSON  WHO INTERFERES WITH A VOTER'S PHOTOGRAPH PURSUANT TO
 PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR.
   § 2. Subdivisions 10 and 11 of section 17-130 of the election law  are
 amended to read as follows:
   10. [Shows his] SOLICITS A VOTER TO SHOW HIS OR HER ballot after it is
 prepared  for  voting,  to  any person so as to reveal the contents[, or
 solicits a voter to show the same]; or,
   11. Places any mark  upon  his  ballot,  or  does  any  other  act  in
 connection  with his ballot with the intent that it may be identified as
 the one voted by him, OTHER THAN WHAT IS ALLOWED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION
 FOUR OF SECTION 8-300 OF THIS CHAPTER; or,
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02550-01-9

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