Texas voters: Forget about selfies with your ballot. It’s illegal

Don’t do it.

Put your smart phone away when heading into a polling site and resist the urge to take a selfie with your ballot.

Seriously.

It’s illegal in Texas, and many other states as well.

Lots of people, including celebrities like Justin Timberlake, have taken selfies at early voting locations and posted them on social media. But officials later noted that Timberlake’s polling place selfie violated a Tennessee law that’s been in effect since last year that bans all voters from using cellphones or other digital devices while at the polls.

Officials said they won’t prosecute Timberlake, but they do want the public to follow the law.

“Cameras and pictures are prohibited in polling places and within 100 feet of the polling place,” said Frank Phillips, Tarrant County’s election administrator.

Save your excitement about finally weighing in on the Nov. 8 election for when you get outside the polling place.

Take a picture with your “I voted” sticker or maybe the early voting signs out there.

If you take a picture of yourself, your ballot or anything else inside the polling place, or within 100 feet of it, you are violating state law.

“You are not allowed to use a cellphone or a recording device, such as a camera, in the polling place,” said Alicia Pierce, a spokeswoman with the Texas Secretary of State’s Office. “If you try to use your camera in the polling place, a poll worker may ask you to put it away. If you refuse, you can be removed from the polling location by an election judge.”

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Texas voters: Forget about selfies with your ballot. It’s illegal."