Though Brits have become very selfie-obsessed of late, taking them anywhere we have a phone with an awkwardly extended arm and a face, there's one place you're really not going to be able to take one – the voting booth.
In a memo to officers – the people who make sure votes are being cast correctly, the ones who give up their day to sit on hard-backed plastic chairs in chilly school halls and fold paper – the Electoral Commission (no less), said. 'We have recently been asked about voters taking photos of themselves ("selfies") in polling stations and whether this is allowed. The law relating to obtaining information in polling stations and disclosing such information is complex.'
Then it gets all serious, with them adding, 'Given the risk that someone taking a photo inside a polling station may be in breach of the law, whether intentionally or not, our advice is that you should not allow photos to be taken inside polling stations.'
Why do we not allow photos in polling booths? Because of a historic law on voters' privacy, which protects their votes from being seen. Because this is enshrined in law, anyone taking a selfie in the voting booth could be find up to £5,000 or given a six-month prison term under the Representation of the People Act.
However, one expert, Katie Ghose of the Electoral Reform Society, says that it's a shame because she knows the power of social media – the moment you see someone post a picture of a place they're in, you really do want to go there – could be used to harness young people's votes. 'At a time when more and more people are turning away from politics, anything which brings a sense of occasion to election day ought to be encouraged,' she told* The Sun.** '*Of course, it’s vital that people’s privacy isn’t invaded in the polling booth. But selfies are a fun addition to the voting day ritual, especially for young people who are least likely to vote.'
Selfies in polling stations were banned by India in their recent elections, but in the Netherlands they were allowed, leading to the hashtag #stemfie trending (it's a mi of 'selfie' and 'stemmen' – the Dutch word for 'to vote')
But that hasn't helped the selfie cause in the UK. 'The law against releasing information obtained in a polling station is there to protect the integrity of the poll and the secrecy of the ballot,' a spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said. Shame. But still, the time it takes to get a perfect selfie would mean the booths will be full for ages. And no one in the UK is going to queue around the block for a vote, are they?
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.