httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru0K8uYEZWw
Justin Timberlake is getting a little more attention than he bargained for when he posted a selfie as he voted in Tennessee and encouraged people to vote early in the upcoming election.
Turns out the state has a law, new this year, that prohibits using a mobile device to take a picture in a voting booth.
“T 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! #excerciseyourrighttovote.”
“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,” said Adam Ghassemi, a spokesman for Secretary of State Tre Hargett, on Tuesday.
“We hope this encourages more people than ever to vote,” he added, “But Tennesseans should only use their phones inside polling locations for informational purposes to assist while voting, like our free GoVoteTN mobile app. If polling officials discover someone violating this law they will ask the voter to put their phone away.”
The law – which was cosponsored by a state senator from Germantown – made it a misdemeanor to take a cellphone photo in a voting booth.
The law gives people statutory protection to use their mobile devices to assist them in voting, but also makes this kind of selfie-taking a misdemeanor punishable by a $50 fine and up to 30 days in jail.
One problem raised with the bill back in 2015 was a concern that voters not be afraid to use their phones to record fraud.