Selfie Election Laws: Can You Snap One While Voting?

Celebrity Justin Timberlake made headlines for posting a selfie he illegally took at the polls in his home state of Tennessee.

KVRR checked in with local voting officials to see what the state’s laws are about snapping a picture while voting.

Taking a selfie has become a popular way to capture and share memories at the click of a button.

Different states have different laws about taking pictures while voting but in North Dakota and Minnesota, you can in fact take a picture while at the polls.

Early voting starts on Monday.

“We really don’t have any rules on that,” said Cass County Auditor Michael Montplasir. “We’re not going to police people on whether or not they are taking a picture with their cell phone.”

It’s perfectly fine to do in it North Dakota and Minnesota.

You can even take a picture of your ballot as long as you don’t see others’.

It is illegal however, in 16 states.

“We expect polling places to be fairly quiet,” said Montplaisir. “You shouldn’t be trying to influence anybody else who is voting.”

In Minnesota, if you snap a selfie, keep it to yourself.

While in the polling place, you can’t show off your selfie to anyone else.

But you can share it with your friends and family once you’ve left the area.

“I think it’s actually a good idea because you see someone else doing it and you’re like, ‘yeah that’s a good idea, I should too’,” said Savanna Haanen of Fargo.

And if you want to post it online like the “Can’t Stop the Feeling Singer”, well… no one can stop you!

“You can do whatever you want with it, it’s yours,”  Montplaisir said.

The highest number of votes Cass County has seen during a Presidential Election is around 72,000.

They hope to see that number go up.