Justin Timberlake accidentally broke the law by taking a selfie in the voting booth, after flying from Los Angeles to Memphis to vote early. Despite breaking the law, his voting booth selfie, which he posted to Instagram, is not under investigation as reported by Shelby County DA Amy Weirich via Twitter.
WREG released a report that Tennessee had passed a law back in 2015 preventing people “from using the [mobile electronic or communication] device for telephone conversations, recording, or taking photographs or videos while inside the polling place.” The photo ended up being shared by multiple news outlets despite being technically against the law.
Communications director of the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office Vine Higgins had first said to Us Weekly that the office “was made aware of a possible violation of election law. The matter is under review by the D.A.’s office.”
A statement issued to WREG by Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett read, “We hope this encourages more people than ever to vote, 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 for the voter to put their phone away.”
“The statement released earlier today regarding Justin Timberlake & an investigation was incorrect & was released without my knowledge,” Weirich wrote on Twitter.
“No one in our office is currently investigating this matter nor will we be using our limited resources to do so,” she further said.
The statement released earlier today regarding Justin Timberlake & an investigation was incorrect & was released without my knowledge.
— Amy Weirich D.A.G. (@AmyWeirichDA) October 25, 2016
No one in our office is currently investigating this matter nor will we be using our limited resources to do so. — Amy Weirich D.A.G. (@AmyWeirichDA) October 25, 2016
If Timberlake had been convicted of the class C misdemeanor, Timberlake would be required to spend 30 days in jail or pay a $50 fine.
