Here's Everything You Need To Know About Voting Booth Selfies

Taking pictures in the voting booth is actually illegal in 18 states.

By
Julia Reinstein
by Julia Reinstein

BuzzFeed News Reporter

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.

Justin Timberlake / Instagram

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, "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.

The Associated Press asked election officials in every state where taking pictures in the booth is and isn't allowed.

BuzzFeed News / Google

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.

Really, though, many of these "unclear" states lean more toward "maaaaybe just don't do it."

NBC

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 Elaine Manlove, the state's election commissioner, told the AP, "I don't know that we can control what happens behind the curtain."

Unless you're certain your selfie is legal, consider holding off until you're outside the polling place.

Here is a list of where it is legal, illegal, and unclear whether it's legal or not to take a ballot selfie:

Legal:

Connecticut

District of Columbia

Hawaii

Idaho

Indiana

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Minnesota

Montana

Nebraska

New Hampshire

North Dakota

Oregon

Rhode Island

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

Wyoming

Illegal:

Alabama

Alaska

Colorado

Florida

Georgia

Illinois

Kansas

Massachusetts

Michigan

Mississippi

Nevada

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

South Carolina

South Dakota

Wisconsin

Unclear:

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Delaware

Iowa

Maryland

Missouri

Ohio

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania

Tennessee

Texas

West Virginia

(H/T: Associated Press<)

CORRECTION

A previous version of the map incorrectly identified the legality of ballot selfies for Michigan and Massachusetts. The map has since been updated with the correct information.

The list of states previously left out South Carolina.

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