Justin Timberlake's Voting Selfie Could Land Him in Jail

He'd be the 1st person prosecuted under a new Tenn. law
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 25, 2016 5:04 PM CDT
Justin Timberlake's Voting Selfie Could Land Him in Jail
This selfie taken at a Memphis polling station could land Justin Timberlake in the slammer.   (Instagram)

Justin Timberlake rocked the vote Monday in Memphis, but he could soon be rocking a prison cell thanks to a Tennessee law that prohibits taking pictures or videos inside polling stations, TMZ reports. According to CNN, the superstar flew to his hometown Monday to vote, taking a selfie in front of the Diebold voting machine in the process. Timberlake posted the photo to Instagram with the caption: "Choose to have a voice! If you don't, then we can't HEAR YOU! Get out and VOTE!" Now he could face 30 days in jail and/or a $50 fine. The local district attorney's office says the incident is "under review." The Tennessee legislature passed the law banning the taking of photos and videos in polling stations in 2015, the Commercial Appeal reports. Timberlake would be the first person prosecuted under the new law.

In addition to voting and possibly breaking a law, Timberlake posed for photos outside the polling station at the New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. Local school board candidate Suzanne Jones posted hers to Twitter. "I said, 'I know you’ve done it a lot, but I’d appreciate a picture with you,'" Jones tells the Commercial Appeal. "Someone was going to take it for me. But he said, 'No, I can take it. I do have gorilla arms, since I do this a lot.'" Timberlake lives in Los Angeles and owns property in Nashville but is still registered to vote in Memphis. The local election commission chairman says that's not really a problem. The selfie, on the other hand... (More Justin Timberlake stories.)

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