Justin Timberlake’s Illegal Voting Selfie Is Changing the Laws
Last October, Justin Timberlake flew from L.A. to Memphis to vote in the presidential election. Along with his wife, Jessica Biel, the avid Hillary Clinton supporter took a selfie to encourage his followers to vote.
Along with the selfie was the caption, “Hey! You! Yeah, YOU! I just flew from LA to Memphis to #rockthevote !!! No excuses, my good people! There could be early voting in your town too. If not, November 8th! Choose to have a voice! If you don’t, then we can’t HEAR YOU! Get out and VOTE!”
Even though he was well intentioned, the act of using your cellphone in a polling place — at that time — was illegal. Tennessee had a law on the books that banned voters “from using the device for telephone conversations, recording, or taking photographs or videos while inside the polling place.”
This crime was considered a misdemeanor and carried a potential penalty of 30 days in jail and a $50 fine. Luckily for Justin, the local authorities quickly announced he would not be investigated.
However, thanks in part to the selfie, the Tennessee Senate on April 13 approved legislation to allow photos in polling places except if it’s intended to commit voter intimidation, voter fraud, or sell a vote.
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