A federal judge heard arguments from lawyers Tuesday over a New York law that bans taking selfies in the ballot booth.

Judge P. Kevin Castel listened as a lawyer for three voters insisted his clients should be allowed to distribute ballot selfies on social media. A city lawyer, Stephen Kitzinger, argued against it.

Kitzinger said the request to declare bans on distributing pictures of completed ballots unconstitutional came too late for this election. He said over 35,000 polling place workers and 2,500 police officers already have been trained and it would be "incredibly disruptive" to change the rules, which in New York City includes a ban on photography at polling locations.

Selfie advocates say the snapshots should be a protected form of political expression.

Experts say the intent of the ban on ballot selfies was to prevent coercion and intimidation of voters.

"Back in the 1800s there was actually a practice to buy votes or force people to vote in a certain way," says state Assemblyman Tom McKevitt. "Back then your vote was not private. There was actually a different color ballot for each one you voted for. So one of the reasons for going to the secret ballot was so people could vote freely and not be intimidated."

But the trio of voters who filed the lawsuit argue that the law is unconstitutional because it restricts and criminalizes a voter's right to free political speech.

The judge promised to rule by week's end whether the First Amendment extends to selfies at the polling booth.

Susan Lerner, of Common Cause, says election law should be rewritten to protect against intimidation and the buying or selling of votes without preventing people from taking innocent selfies.