Photograph courtesy of Ansy Dupiton
Not too long ago, Justin Timberlake got in a minor heap of trouble for taking a selfie in a voting booth in Memphis. That got us thinking. Is it illegal to take a voting selfie here in Chicago? Turns out that it is.
Section 29-9 of the Illinois Election Code says that using your phone to take a selfie in a voting booth is a felony punishable to up to three years in jail.
“...any person who knowingly … casts vote on a voting machine or voting device so that it can be observed by another person … shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony.”
Keep in mind though that these laws were drawn up in the early 70s when the internet, social media, and smartphones were futuristic pipe dreams. From what we can tell, nobody has been arrested for taking a voting selfie, but tread carefully out there. Maybe wait a moment until you get outside and take an “I voted!” selfie with one of those swanky music festival-esque wristbands they’re apparently giving out instead of stickers instead?