Hours from now, residents of the United States will cast their ballot for the president of the country.
The Americans will be choosing between the Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump.
A candidate can win the elections if she or he will get 270 electoral college votes.
In the Philippines, taking selfie while voting or having a picture of the ballot is not allowed by the Commission on Elections.
In the US, there are states which allow taking selfie with the ballot in order to document the voting experience.
The following are the states where selfie is allowed:
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware: In this state, there are signs being put up in polling places that say “no cellphones,” but it is not a law.
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii: This year, a law was passed in this state, allowing voters to share their own ballot pictures on social media, like Facebook.
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Minnesota
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire: In September, the federal appeals court ruled that the state’s ban on selfies is unconstitutional.
- North Dakota
- Oregon
- Rhode Island: In this state, taking photos are allowed as long as it only show the ballot of the person taking the selfie, no other voters’.
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wyoming
On the other hand, selfie is not allowed in the following states:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Florida
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan: In October 24, a federal judge ruled that the state’s ballot selfie ban was unconstitutional, but on Thursday, a federal appeals court upheld the ban, prohibiting voters to do so.
- Mississippi
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
When caught violating the ban, the penalties vary from fines to possible jail time depending on the local prosecutor’s discretion.
Meanwhile, there are states having unclear laws on selfie during voting, and these include Arizona, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.
