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Judge Allows Colorado Voters To Post Ballot Selfies Online

DENVER (AP) — A judge ruled that Colorado voters can post ballot selfies on social media sites, differing from recent federal court decisions on the laws just before Election Day.

U.S. District Judge Christine Arguello ruled late Friday that Colorado can't enforce an 1891 law preventing voters from disseminating their marked ballots. The ruling said polling places may still enforce local rules banning photography due to privacy concerns. However, no resident will be prosecuted for sharing images of completed ballots on social media.

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The order comes the same week that judges in New York and California upheld bans, saying changing the rules so close to the election would create confusion for voters and polling place workers.

Colorado election officials testified about those concerns.

"By issuing an injunction in this case, Coloradans get what they are entitled to_clarity on an issue that implicates fundamental constitutional rights," Arguello wrote in her ruling.

A recent review by The Associated Press showed ballot selfies are legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia, illegal in 17 states and the legal status is mixed or unclear in the rest.

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Deputy Secretary of State Suzanne Staiert stood by the ban. "We still believe it is a good protection against intimidation and vote buying and a number of other vote fraud crimes," she said Friday night.

The ruling came after a hearing in which some voters said the ballot selfie ban hinders free speech. Colorado Sen. Owen Hill, a Republican who challenged the selfie ban, called the law archaic and potentially damaging to efforts to boost voter turnout.

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"There is something special about highlighting to people, 'Here's who I voted for, I'm proud of it,'" said Hill, who takes his four children into the voting booth with him and sees no difference between that perfectly legal practice and sharing a ballot selfie on Instagram.

On the other side, economist Jeffrey Zax testified that ballot selfies have the potential to revive 19th century-style vote-buying, though he could point to no modern evidence of it.

"When it's difficult for someone to prove the way they voted, it's much harder to sell your vote," Zax testified. "With a cellphone camera, ballot secrecy is eradicated."

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Arguello's ruling states voters can still be prosecuted for using images as proof in vote-buying schemes.

The ruling in Colorado is temporary and doesn't mean that the ban won't be upheld by a court later.

Statement from Colorado Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman

"As the Attorney General it is my responsibility to defend the laws of the State, including CRS § 1-13-712(1) which is intended to protect voters and the sanctity of ballot secrecy. While this Preliminary Injunction provides accommodations for some of the conduct the plaintiffs have claimed they wish to engage in, it is not a ruling on the constitutionality of the law nor is it a free pass for anyone to engage in other illegal behavior. My office will not tolerate voter intimidation, fraud, or other illegal acts that could affect the integrity of the voting process."

By Kristen Wyatt, AP Writer

(© Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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