SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – California ballot selfies remain banned after a federal judge ruled Wednesday that changing the rules so late in the election process would create confusion.
U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup rejected a request by the American Civil Liberties Union to prevent California from enforcing its ban on sharing photos of marked ballots this election.
“It’s not fair to the voters in California, the people who run those polling places and the secretary of state to jam this down their throats at the last minute,” Alsup said.
The ruling came on the same day a federal judge in Colorado heard arguments on that state’s ballot selfie ban. A legal challenge also is pending in New York.
There are laws against voters sharing any photo of their ballot in 18 states, while six others bar photography in polling places but allow photos of mail-in ballots, according to a review by The Associated Press.