Advertisement Nehlen's tweet of marked ballot creates 'complicated' matter, election commission says Photo of ballot with Paul Nehlen's name selected appears on candidate's Twitter account Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Businessman Paul Nehlen, who is challenging House Speaker Paul Ryan for his 1st Congressional District seat, did his civic duty on Tuesday by casting a ballot, but in doing so may have broken the law.VIDEO: Nehlen tweets photo of ballotA photo posted to Nehlen's Twitter account shortly after 3 p.m. shows a ballot with his name marked. "#HireNehlen Save America #WI01," the tweet said.Posting a photo of a completed ballot, or showing a marked ballot to anyone, constitutes election fraud under Wisconsin law.A review of video of Nehlen voting in Delavan shows the candidate with what appears to be a phone in his hand, pointing it to the ballot and then replacing the phone in his back pocket.Asked about the photo, Reid Magney, the public information officer for the Wisconsin Election Commission, said the matter is "complicated."In a statement, Magney said the law was written long ago to prevent election bribery, which would involve showing one’s marked ballot to another person in order to get paid for voting a certain way.However, he said the incident is an "evolving" area of the law, with two recent cases of "ballot selfie” laws being struck down by federal courts in Indiana and New Hampshire.Magney said the commission does not have the authority to prosecute criminal cases under Chapter 12 of Wisconsin law. It would be up to a district attorney to determine whether to file charges against someone who posts a ballot selfie, based on the facts of the case.411238569737608