The Timberlake Selfie Bill passes the Tennessee Senate
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WDEF) – The Tennessee Senate has voted to loosen up restrictions on cell phones at polling stations.
The bill was born after the flap over a Justin Timberlake selfie during the last Presidential election.
He took the photo to encourage his fans to vote when he cast an early ballot in Memphis.
But then we all learned he had violated the cell phone ban in Tennessee voting locations.
The new bill allows exceptions to the ban on election officials and commissioners, which were originally enacted to discourage harassment at the polls.
It also permits photos of marked ballots as long as you don’t use it to intimidate, sell your vote or commit other fraud.
“This law helps us to continue to conduct our elections with integrity and reliability, as the ban on cell phone use is a narrowly tailored restriction to achieve that interest,” says the bill’s sponsor, Brian Kelsey. “At the same time, it employs common sense so that we don’t infringe on our citizen’s First Amendment rights.”
The bill acknowledges you may need to use your phone while waiting to vote.
“Sometimes citizens are waiting in long lines in hallways before they even reach the room with the voting machines,” said Senator Kelsey. “We need to allow folks to call home about the grocery list while they are waiting.”
The bill now goes to the House of Representatives.
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