Colorado looks to repeal ban on ballot selfies, but bill faces a hurdle

The Denver Post: Colorado lawmakers want to make it legal to post ballot selfies after a federal judge suggested the state’s 125-year-old law banning the practice violates free speech rights.

“The idea of voting is an awesome opportunity, and we should give people a chance to celebrate that any way they darn well please,” said Sen. Owen Hill, a Colorado Springs Republican and bill sponsor.

The premise is drawing bipartisan support, but the measure includes a provision that makes it illegal to trade a vote or even offer to swap — a potential poison pill that may jeopardize the bill when it debuts in a House committee Wednesday.

Both issues — posting pictures of ballots to social media and the arranging to swap votes on websites — emerged as controversies in the chaotic 2016 presidential race and showcased how new technology is remaking the age-old election process.

And the effort to repeal the law making it a misdemeanor crime to share a completed ballot added urgency after a federal judge blocked its enforcement in response to a lawsuit Hill filed just days before the 2016 election.

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