Justin Timberlake posted a selfie casting a ballot earlier in Memphis raising red flags as it's a violation of a state election law. But the former N-Sync member is in the clear because the D.A.'s office hasn't filed a complaint against him.
It seems like Timberlake can't stop the feeling when he flew from L.A. to his hometown in Memphis to cast an early vote and shared the experience online, to encourage his 37 million Instagram followers to "get out and vote."
But this innocent gesture has raised a legal flag since taking pictures inside a polling station in 19 states, including Tennessee, is illegal. Timberlake's gaffe caught the attention of the state's authority right away, BBC reported.
He could be facing a charge of 30 days in jail or a $50 fine or even both. Earlier unconfirmed statements circulated that Amy Weirich, the Shelby County District Attorney, said that the matter was under review. However she came out and said their office will not be using its limited resources to investigate the matter, Telegraph UK reported.
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed a bill in 2015 allowing voters to use cellphones inside polling stations only if they needed help with the voting. Other actions such as taking videos or photographs are simply not allowed.
The purpose of the law was to prevent voter intimidation and any matters that could slow down the voting process.
This law is not applicable in all states, fortunately, as voters in the states of Hawaii, Louisiana, and Virginia are not prohibited to take selfies or what not with their phones while inside polling stations. In states like Texas, voters are not even allowed to take pictures or videos within 100 meters of the polling stations.
The enforcement of the law was halted in Michigan however because the plaintiff contested that banning such action inside poll stations is a violation of his constitutional right to free speech. The same went down in Colorado where the plaintiffs argued that the prohibition to show completed ballots to others is simply unconstitutional.
It was unclear in the selfie whether Timberlake voted for Trump or Clinton but he was in attendance at the democratic Convention last August so he might be for the first female president in the US.
