Newsgathering

Get Out And Vote: Election Day Resources

I am about to head out and vote, but before I do I want to exhort all of our readers who haven't yet voted to GO OUT AND VOTE!  Don't know where to vote?  Go here to find out.  Once you've voted, do your part and upload the details of your experience to one (or all) of the organizations seeking to collect information about this election. 

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Documenting Your Vote: Massachusetts Election Laws

Massachusetts has no statutory provision that specifically prohibits the use of photographic or video equipment inside a polling place while you are voting.  There is, however, a Massachusetts statute that makes it a crime to "hinder[], delay[] or interfere[] with . . .

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Georgia Law Prohibits Recording Inside Polling Places

Georgia is one of the states that explicitly prohibit photography inside polling places.  Section 21-2-413(e) of the Georgia Code states:

No elector shall use photographic or other electronic monitoring or recording devices or cellular telephones while such elector is within the enclosed space in a polling place.

This prohibition applies to the entire polling place, not just the voting booth.  Therefore, Georgia voters should not attempt to use a video camera, still camera, or other recording device anywhere inside a polling place.

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The Role of Citizen Media in Ensuring Fair Elections

Yesterday, I read an article in the New York Times describing the fears some voters in Duval County, Florida have that their early votes will be lost and never counted.  I found the article deeply disturbing.  It wasn't because it surprised me that people fear their votes won't be counted (that fear has some precedent in Duval County, where 26,000 ballots were discarded in the 2000 election), but because it brought into focus for me the apprehensive feelin

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Michigan Secretary of State Warns Voters Not To Use Cameras Inside The Polls

Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land issued a press release today warning voters that Michigan law prohibits the use of video cameras, still cameras, and other recording devices inside Michigan polling places on Election Day. 

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Documenting Your Vote: North Carolina Election Laws

Although you wouldn't guess from the photograph on the right and others available online (here, here, and here), North Carolina law places heavy restrictions on photography and videography inside polling places on Election Day. Luckily, North Carolina also provides some helpful guidelines on permissible newsgathering activities at the polls.

Section 163-166.3(b) of the North Carolina General Statutes says that no person may "photograph, videotape, or otherwise record the image of any voter within the voting enclosure, except with the permission of both the voter and the chief judge of the precinct." Depending on the attitude of the chief poll worker at your precinct towards photography and videography, this amounts to a near-prohibition on using recording devices inside the "voting enclosure," which means "the room within the voting place that is used for voting."  N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-165.

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Documenting Your Vote: Pennsylvania Election Laws

Although Pennsylvania no longer looks like much of a swing state, today I'll discuss the Pennsylvania laws that impact your ability to document your own voting experience through video and still photography, as well as your ability to carry out other newsgathering functions, such as interviewing other voters outside of polling places.

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Documenting Your Vote: Virginia Election Laws

In the wake of the final presidential debate last night, polls suggest that Virginia is poised to be a key state come November 4.  If you're a Virginia voter thinking about documenting the big day, Virginia election law may affect your ability to use video or still photography in and around your polling place, as well as your ability to interview other voters at the polls.

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CMLP Joins with YouTube and PBS to Help Citizens Video Their Vote

As part of a new project spearheaded by YouTube and PBS called "Video Your Vote," the Citizen Media Law Project is researching the laws regulating recording activities at polling places.  Our specific focus is on the laws that impact voters' ability to document their own voting experiences through video and still photography, as well as their ability to carry out other newsgathering functions, such as interviewing other voters outside of polling places.

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Documenting Your Vote: Ohio Election Laws

Continuing our focus on swing states, I'll look today at the laws regulating polling place activities in Ohio. These laws may impact your ability to document your own voting experience through video and still photography, as well as your ability to carry out other newsgathering functions, such as interviewing other voters outside of polling places.

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