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Assembly Bill A1542

2025-2026 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

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Current Bill Status - In Assembly Committee

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2025-A1542 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Senate Version of this Bill:
S1844
Current Committee:
Assembly Education
Law Section:
Election Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §§8-300 & 17-130, El L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2017-2018: A4067, S5418
2019-2020: A1038, S1105
2021-2022: A4182, S365
2023-2024: A318, S661

2025-A1542 (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.

2025-A1542 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1542
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 10, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  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:
 
   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 SUCH VOTER'S 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] SUCH PERSON'S ballot, or does any other
 act  in  connection with [his] SUCH PERSON'S ballot with the intent that
 it may be identified as the one voted by [him] SUCH PERSON,  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.
 A                                                          LBD02299-01-5

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