NY State Senate Bill 2023-S661

Senate Bill S661

2023-2024 Legislative Session

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

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections 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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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to elections
Jan 05, 2023	referred to elections

2023-S661 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A318
Current Committee:: Senate Elections
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§8-300 & 17-130, El L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S5418, A4067
2019-2020: S1105, A1038
2021-2022: S365, A4182

2023-S661 (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.

2023-S661 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S661

SPONSOR: HOYLMAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to allowing voters to take
photographs of themselves and their ballots while voting

 
PURPOSE:

This bill removes the prohibition against voters taking photographs of
their ballots at the polls.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one amends Section 8-300 of the election law by adding a new
subdivision 4.

Section two amends Subdivisions 10 and 11 of section 17-130 of the
election law. Section three sets forth the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:

Social media has revolutionized the way that society does everything.
From Facebook and Twitter to Snapchat and Instagram, people of all ages
regularly utilize a number of social media platforms to promote a varie-
ty of content. This is especially true during election season when
voters often take and post "ballot selfies" to their personal social
media accounts.

Currently 18 states prohibit voters from taking photographs of their
ballots. New York's prohibition originated as a protection against voter
coercion, when employers frequently coerced their employees to vote for
or against a particular candidate. This bill removes the prohibition
against ballot photographs, but it maintains the protection against
voter intimidation and coercion, which are punishable as misdemeanors in
New York State. The bill also specifies that voters are only allowed to
take photographs of themselves and their own ballots while in the priva-
cy of a voting booth.

Voting is singlehandedly the most important exercise in a free and demo-
cratic society. Across the United States, voter turnout is notoriously
low. Only 57.5% of all eligible voters nationally cast their ballot in
the 2012 presidential election. Turnout was slightly worse in New York,
with only 53.1% voting for president in 2012.  Allowing New Yorkers to
celebrate online the fact that they participated in our democracy will
ultimately help increase voter turnout and participation across the
State.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.0365 of 2021-2022(Hoylman): Died in Elections

A.4182 of 2021-2022(Rosenthal): Died in Election Law

S.1105 of 2019-2020(Hoylman):Died in Elections

A.1038 of 2019-2020(RosenthalL): Died in Election Law

S.5418 of 2017-2018(Hoylman):Died in Elections

A.4067 of 2017-2018(Rosenthal): Died in Election Law

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S661 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    661
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 5, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
 
 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.
                                                            LBD01346-01-3

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