Eric Trump is proud to cast a vote for his father, and he wants everyone to know it.
He tweeted out a picture of his filled-in ballot with the caption, “It is an incredible honor to vote for my father! He will do such a great job for the U.S.A!” Unfortunately for the Republican nominee’s son, what he probably thought was an innocent social media post violates a New York law banning “ballot selfies.”
It’s illegal to take a picture of your completed ballot in 18 states, including New York where the Trump family lives. According to New York Magazine, the state’s maximum penalty is either a $1,000 fine or one year in jail.
Trump isn’t the only one who’s faced backlash for this kind of post: Justin Timberlake made the same mistake, sharing a photo of himself at a voting booth to encourage his fans to vote before realizing that it violated a Tennessee law that was passed earlier this year. And a simple search on social media will yield plenty of similar results of voters posting their ballots.
In Timberlake’s case, the singer promptly took the picture down after facing ire. The Shelby County DA’s office let him off the hook after deciding not to use “limited resources” to investigate further.
Update: Eric Trump has since removed the photo from his Twitter account.
