Even the Choir Doesn't Care

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

It's election day, and, unsurprisingly, the Leftist press has already worked itself into a frenzy. Over what, you might ask? Well, Eric Trump (son of Donald Trump) posted a "ballot selfie"[1] (i.e., a picture of his completed ballot [showing his vote for his father]). Naturally, the press cannot be bothered to deal in such things as Constitutional law and fundamental rights. There are important matters at hand, like being the first to publish, screaming the loudest into an echo chamber, and preaching to the choir.

The Left's persistent (bordering on maniacal) insistence on burdening fundamental rights[2] notwithstanding, Eric Trump was perfectly within his Constitutionally protected rights[3] in sharing the picture of his completed ballot[4]. While New York has, at present, a law on the books prohibiting such conduct, that law is fundamentally flawed and clearly Constitutionally invalid. When the law comes up for review (after the election), it will be subjected to strict scrutiny. The standard for strict scrutiny (which the law will not pass) is as follows:

  1. There must be a compelling Government interest(/goal) at stake [there isn't];

  2. The law in question must be narrowly tailored to achieve such compelling Government interest/goal [it isn't]; and

  3. The law in question must be the least restrictive means for achieving the compelling Government interest/goal [it isn't].

  1. No Twitter link as it has since been deleted, but here's one from The Verge (including the deleted picture). ↩︎

  2. In this case, there are two fundamental rights at issue: Free Speech (enshrined in the First Amendment) and voting (protected as a right in itself and as a right under the aegis of the First Amendment). ↩︎

  3. Not to mention the Natural Law, which engenders many of the rights the Constitution merely enshrines. ↩︎

  4. As of posting this, there are already nearly one hundred results for the search term "eric trump ballot selfie" because we, as a nation, have nothing more important to be doing. ↩︎