Timberlake may have broken election law in Tennessee by taking a 'rock the vote'-style selfie in an polling booth.
Justin Timberlake could face the possibility of jail time after he took a selfie while casting his vote in the presidential election in Tennessee, unwittingly breaking the state’s laws on election law.
On Tuesday (October 25th), the 35 year old pop star flew from Los Angeles to vote in New Bethel Missionary Baptist church in Germantown, and shared a picture of himself doing it on Instagram, telling his followers to “get out and vote” in the caption.
Justin Timberlake may have broken Tennesse election law
Doubtlessly he thought he was being civic-minded, but Timberlake probably didn’t consider the fact that taking photographs or making video inside a voting booth has been illegal in Tennessee since May 2015, when a bill was enacted stating that cellphones can only be used inside the booth for “informational purposes to assist the voter in making election decisions.”
Penalties for breaking this law can include a $50 fine and 30 days in prison, and Timberlake’s picture is now known to the authorities despite him taking it down from Instagram soon afterwards.
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A spokesperson for the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office told TMZ that it had been “made aware of a possible violation of election law.” Gulp.
A rep from the Tennessee secretary of state’s office, Adam Ghassemi, told local news outlet Commercial Appeal that while they welcomed Timberlake’s enthusiasm, election law had to be strictly upheld.
“We’re thrilled Justin can’t stop the feeling when it comes to voting so much that he voted early in person and is promoting voting to his millions of fans. In Tennessee, using electronic devices inside polling locations to take pictures, videos or make calls is not allowed. We hope this encourages more people than ever to vote, but Tennesseans should only use their phones inside polling locations for informational purposes to assist while voting. If polling officials discover someone violating this law they will ask the voter to put their phone away.”
Timberlake didn’t reveal how he voted, but considering that he and his wife Jessica Biel recently hosted a Hollywood fundraiser for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, it would be surprising if he didn’t go blue.
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