Elections and Politics

Progress Illinois' YouTube Channel Reinstated After Fox Declines to Sue

Late last week, YouTube reinstated Progress Illinois' YouTube channel after Fox Television declined to sue for copyright infringement within the 10 day window prescribed by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

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New York Times Calls on Inauguration Attendees to Submit Their Photos

In much the same spirit as its Polling Place Photo Project, the New York Times is calling on attendees of this week's inaugural events to submit their photos for publication:

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CMLP Publishes Guide to Covering the 2009 Presidential Inauguration

Heading to Washington, D.C., to attend the Presidential Inauguration?  You're bringing your camera with you, right?  Well it shouldn't come as any surprise that heightened security measures across the Washington area will affect where you can go, what you can bring with you, and what you can do to document the inaugural events.  In an effort to help

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Fox Television Forces Shutdown of Progress Illinois' YouTube Channel

Progress Illinois, which "provides online news and commentary on issues important to Illinois working families and the progressive movement at large," has had its YouTube channel terminated after receiving three notices of copyright infringement from Fox Television Stations, Inc. arising from the organization's use of news footage from WFLD-TV, the Fox affiliate in Chicago. 

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News Links

I usually send this out to the CMLP's team of intrepid bloggers to pique their interest, but with the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, I figured I'd avoid the middleman. 

Things that caught my eye this week...

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Don't Blame The Messenger: Political News Site Faces Defamation Lawsuit By G.O.P. Official

Just because the election is over, it doesn't mean that some of this season's political fights won't continue on in the courts.  Here's one from our legal threats database, Carabelli v. The Michigan Messenger.

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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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