Bill Text: NY A00318 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

New York Assembly Bill 318 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-03 - referred to election law [A00318 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A00318-Introduced.html




                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           318

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     January 4, 2023
                                       ___________

        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:

     1    Section  1.  Section  8-300 of the election law is amended by adding a
     2  new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
     3    4. (a) A voter shall be allowed to take photographs of themselves  and
     4  their  own  ballot,  or  absentee ballot, while in a privacy booth. Such
     5  voter shall also be allowed to share and disseminate such photographs on
     6  social media. For  purposes  of  this  subdivision  social  media  shall
     7  include,  but  shall  not  be  limited to forms of communication through
     8  which users participate in  online  communities  to  share  information,
     9  ideas,  personal  messages,  and  other content. Social media shall also
    10  include text messages and the  transmission  of  images  via  electronic
    11  forms of communication.
    12    (b)  Any  person  who interferes with a voter's photograph pursuant to
    13  paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
    14    § 2. Subdivisions 10 and 11 of section 17-130 of the election law  are
    15  amended to read as follows:
    16    10. [Shows his] Solicits a voter to show his or her ballot after it is
    17  prepared  for  voting,  to  any person so as to reveal the contents[, or
    18  solicits a voter to show the same]; or,
    19    11. Places any mark  upon  his  ballot,  or  does  any  other  act  in
    20  connection  with his ballot with the intent that it may be identified as
    21  the one voted by him, other than what is allowed pursuant to subdivision
    22  four of section 8-300 of this chapter; or,
    23    § 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