Taking pictures in the voting booth is actually illegal in 18 states.
When Justin Timberlake flew to his home city of Memphis last month to vote early, he snapped a selfie in the booth and posted it on Instagram — and landed himself in some hot water in the process.
What he apparently didn't know is that taking photos in a polling place is actually prohibited in Tennessee, and can be penalized with a $50 fine or 30 days in jail.
Fortunately, the singer wasn't slapped with any charges — the district attorney told CNN that "no one in our office is currently investigating this matter."
On The Tonight Show, the singer urged fans to "Get out and vote...but don't take a picture of yourself."
Indeed, Tennessee isn't the only state where a voting booth selfie could get you in trouble.
Justin Timberlake / Instagram
The Associated Press asked election officials in every state where taking pictures in the booth is and isn't allowed.
But the answer actually isn't so black and white.
Taking voting pics is legal in 19 states and the District of Columbia, and illegal in 18, but the law is a bit unclear with the 13 remaining states.
BuzzFeed News / Google
Really though, many of these "unclear" states lean more towards "maaaaybe just don't do it."
For example, Tennessee forbids taking photos and videos within polling places, but also has no explicit law on whether you can photograph your mail-in ballots.
And in Delaware, taking your phone into the booth is illegal, but election commissioner Elaine Manlove told the AP, "I don't know that we can control what happens behind the curtain."
NBC
Unless you're certain your selfie is legal, consider holding off till you're outside the polling place.
After all, that's what those cute little "I Voted" stickers are for.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/2fqTFey
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