Don’t bring a selfie back: Know your polling place phone rules

JACKSON, Tenn. — Justin Timberlake snapped a selfie Monday while casting an early ballot in Memphis, an action that is illegal according to Tennessee law.

“You cannot use it for recording or taking photographs or having a phone conversation,” Madison County Administrator of Elections Kim Buckley said.

It is a class C misdemeanor that could get you up to 30 days in jail, a $50 fine or both.

Buckley said voters can bring a phone with them, but it must be silenced. “We have not had an issue with that in Madison County,” she said.

The early voting site in Madison County has phone rules posted at the entrance.

Some voters told WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News they had not heard about the law before but said they agree with it.

“When you get ready to vote, it’s your own private choice — not everybody else’s,” Charlotte Cole, a voter, said.

“I don’t think it was necessary,” Abresha Gray, a voter, said. “Voting is supposed to be private anyway.”

Buckley said phones are allowed in the voting booth for informational purposes. “You can use the internet on the device for accessing information about the election,” Buckley said.

Buckley said campaign clothing promoting any issue or candidate is not allowed in the polling place. She said everyone has the right to campaign but must be at least 100 feet away.

As for Timberlake, the district attorney reportedly does not plan to take legal action against the singer.