Tennessee § 2-7-142 - Use of mobile electronic or communication devices at polling places.

§ 2-7-142. Use of mobile electronic or communication devices at polling places.

A county election commission shall not prohibit a voter from using a mobile electronic or communication device at a polling place for informational purposes to assist the voter in making election decisions. A county election commission may require that any mobile electronic or communication device be silenced while in use at the polling place. Any voter using a mobile electronic or communication device as allowed in subsection (a) shall be prohibited from using the device for telephone conversations, recording, or taking photographs or videos while inside the polling place. Acts 2015, ch. 315, § 1. Compiler's Note. For the Preamble to the act concerning legislative findings related to use of mobile electronic or communication devices at polling places, see Acts 2015, ch. 315. Effective Dates. Acts 2015, ch. 315, § 2. January 1, 2016. Attorney General Opinions. The regulations in T.C.A. § 2-7-142 do not violate the right to freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and article I, section 19 of the Tennessee Constitution. The interior of a polling place is a nonpublic forum. The government may, without violating either the U.S. or the Tennessee Constitution, regulate speech and expressive conduct in a nonpublic forum as long as the regulation is reasonable in light of that forum’s purpose. The prohibitions in T.C.A. § 2-7-142 are content-neutral regulations that are reasonable in light of the purposes of a polling place, which include (1) ensuring privacy of the ballot, speed and efficiency of the voting process, and integrity of the election, and (2) preventing disruption and distraction for voters, voter intimidation, and interference and fraud in the balloting process. OAG 16-49, 2016 Tenn. AG LEXIS 48 (12/22/2016).