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2-plus years later, lawsuit over ballot selfies not over

Posted at 3:25 PM, Oct 08, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-08 15:25:18-04

DETROIT (AP) — Eager to snap and post an online photo of your Michigan ballot in the Nov. 6 election? Think again.

A lawsuit over photos in polling places still hasn’t reached the finish line — more than two years later. Next year seems likely.

A voter in the Kalamazoo area sued in 2016 to try to stop Michigan rules and laws that bar people from taking a photo of their marked ballot or publicly exposing it. Federal Judge Janet Neff granted an injunction, clearing the way for so-called ballot selfies.

But a higher court stepped in and said a change just days before the Trump-Clinton election would be a “recipe for election-day confusion.”

Joel Crookston’s lawsuit against the secretary of state still is ongoing while another election approaches. Crookston says his free-speech rights are being violated.