Charges dropped in Wisconsin 'ballot selfie' case

A local official who posted a photo of his marked ballot on Facebook during the April 2022 election had felony charges against him dropped Monday.

Paul Buzzell, 52, of Mequon had faced maximum penalties of 3 1/2 years behind bars and $10,000 in fines. Buzzell, a member of the Mequon-Thiensville School Board, would have also been barred from holding elected office if convicted.

Ozaukee County Judge Paul Malloy dismissed the charges against Buzzell in a hearing Monday, saying a state law prohibiting voters from showing their marked ballots to anyone else is in violation of the constitutional right to freedom of speech, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

“This case was about more than just a Facebook post; it was about protecting the fundamental right to freedom of expression,” Michael Chernin, Buzzell’s attorney, said in a statement to the newspaper.

The Wisconsin Senate passed a bill in 2020 to legalize ballot selfies, but the proposal died in the state Assembly.

There has been movement in other states in favor of allowing the so-called ballot selfies.

In New Hampshire, a federal judge held that a state law barring an individual’s right to publish their ballot violated the First Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal. And in Michigan, Wisconsin’s neighbor, legislators changed state law in 2019 to make the practice legal.

Kentucky's ballot selfie rules are a little complicated. You've got the go-ahead to take photos both inside and outside of your polling location. Plus, you can take a photo of your blank ballot, but Kentucky does not allow photos of marked ballots under any circumstances. This is to ensure there's no vote-buying going on. If you already filled it out but forgot to get a quick pic, you can get a picture of it in an envelope or without capturing any indication of who you voted for. 




Nikola Jordan poses with her election ballot in Omaha, Neb. Ballot selfies have different rules in different states; in Kentucky, a photo of a ballot is allowed as long as it hasn't been filled out yet.  (AP photo  Mari Zaporowski)