Ballot Selfies, Carrying a Gun, Candidate T-Shirts: What's Allowed at State Polling Places

CHICAGO, IL — Ever since the camera cellphone met social media, people have been using that union to photograph and publicly document even the most mundane moments of their lives, from what they ordered for lunch to who they voted for in an election.

And when elections roll around, those ballot photos usually lead to people asking a single question: Is that legal?

With record turnouts expected at voting sites throughout the state for Tuesday's presidential election, Patch talked to James Scalzitti, deputy director of communications for the Cook County Clerk's Office, to get a refresher course on what's allowed and what isn't at polling places when casting your ballot.

Taking a Photo of Your Ballot

Is It Allowed? "Technically, no," Scalzitti said. "It is illegal in Illinois. But the law that some people refer to predates cellphones."

Ballot selfies aren't something election judges are cracking down on, but whipping out a smartphone to snap a picture isn't a practice that the clerk's office encourages. Photos being taken while secret votes are being cast can make people uncomfortable, and they might feel like their privacy is being invaded.

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But even if other voters don't object to it, a ballot photo creates another problem. Election judges can't tell if the person taking the photograph is being forced to vote a certain way, and the picture is to provide evidence, Scalzitti said.

"They're welcome to take a picture with their 'I Voted' sticker or take a picture outside the polling place," he said. "But we really try to discorage the selfie at the ballot."

Legally Carrying a Gun

Is It Allowed? No, despite Illinois being a concealed carry state and no laws specifically banning firearms at polling places.

When a site is designated a polling place, it becomes a public place— the same as a park, school or city or village hall —during that time, Scalzitti said. Under state law, firearms are prohibited from being carried in public places, he added.

Because of that, election judges are given no firearm signs — a gun with a circle around it and a line through it — to display during voting hours, Scalzitti said.

Even without the polling place-as-public place designation, many voting sites are at schools and municipal buildings and already have that exemption built in, he added.

Wearing Gear Supporting a Candidate

Is It Allowed? No. That's electioneering, and it's illegal.

Supporters are only allowed to campaign at least 100 yards away from a polling place, no closer. And campaigning doesn't mean just mean passing out fliers and holding signs in favor — or against — someone on the ballot. It also includes wearing T-shirts, pins and other items of clothing that have a candidate's name or campaign slogan on it, Scalzitti said.

Cook County hasn't had issues of rampant electioneering in the past, according to Scalzitti. For the most part, people wearing something in support of a candidate into a polling place usually do so accidentally, forgetting they had an "illegal" pin on their jacket, he added.

But this year could get stickier as the 2016 presidential election has sprouted a variety of catchphrases and memes. Could a baseball hat with a logo from "The Apprentice" TV show on it be considered pro-Donald Trump? Are the words "Lock Her Up" across a ball cap enough to be construed as anti-Hillary Clinton rhetoric?

"It would have to be up to the discretion of the election judges," Scalzitti said."

And what happens if an election judge thinks a voter is wearing campaign propaganda?

"They would be asked to cover it up somehow," he said. "You couldn't vote until you did that. … They could come back with a different shirt. Or cover it up. Or they could turn it inside out."

Ultimately, the biggest rule voters need to follow when voting Tuesday isn't an official regulation.

"Just be respectful of the other people at the polling place," Scalzitti said.

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