She took a ‘ballot selfie.’ Now she’s suing North Carolina elections board for laws that ban it

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A woman is suing the North Carolina elections board over state laws that ban most photography in polling places after she took a selfie with her ballot in March.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Eastern District Court of North Carolina by Susan Hogarth.

The lawsuit centers around a letter Hogarth said she received from the North Carolina State Board of Elections asking her to remove a post on X that included a selfie she took with her completed ballot during the March primary election.

She says the letter and the laws underpinning it are unconstitutional. She is suing the Board of Elections and the Wake County Board of Elections.

Hogarth, a Wake County resident, took a “ballot selfie” in her voting booth on March 5, the lawsuit said. She then posted her selfie on X, endorsing presidential and gubernatorial candidates for the Libertarian Party — something she does to “challenge the narrative that voters can only vote for major party candidates,” according to the lawsuit.

The suit says Hogarth received a letter two weeks later from a state Board of Elections investigator asking her to take down the post, or she could face a misdemeanor charge. Hogarth refused.

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