Agreement allows voters to photograph own ballot; other restrictions remain in place

May 8, 2019 – Subject to court approval, the secretary of state today settled a federal lawsuit challenging Michigan’s restrictions on ballot photography, sometimes known as “ballot selfies.”

Under the settlement, in which both parties to the suit agreed to dismiss the case, voters will be allowed to take a photograph of their own ballot but only while in the voting booth. The agreement doesn’t affect other prohibitions on photography in the area where voting is occurring or sharing ballot images within 100 feet from the polling place (the buffer zone where electioneering is prohibited).