Trista Oettle v. William J. Cadigan, Chairman, Illinois State Board of Elections, et al.
SocialSecurity FirstAmendment DueProcess Securities
Whether a ballot selfie is a form of political expression
QUESTIONS PRESENTED Illinois promulgated 10 ILCS 5/29-9, providing, in pertinent part, that “[e]xcept as permitted by this Code, any person who knowingly marks his ballot or casts his vote on a voting machine or voting device so that it can be observed by another person shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony.” The questions presented are: 1. Whether a photograph of a completed ballot, commonly called a ballot selfie, is a form of political expression in a public forum or a nonpublic forum. 2. Whether a ballot selfie photography ban is a permissible, viewpoint-neutral ban or an unconstitutional content-based ban on political expression.