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Despite calls from some quarters to photograph and use video recorders in polling places on Election Day as a guarantee against fraud, the practice will not be allowed in Nevada County, according to Clerk-Recorder Gregory Diaz.
“Voters are extremely sensitive about their privacy and their right to vote in secret.
Photography or videography in the polling place could well be construed by a typical voter to constitute a ‘tactic of coercion or intimidation,’” which is punishable under state law by up to three years in prison, Diaz said.
Photography and video recording by news media will be allowed, with some restrictions.
If people do see anything that concerns them at the polls, “please notify a poll worker immediately,” Diaz wrote in a letter on the issue. “Our field election deputies will respond as quickly as possible. ... Nevada County is committed to making the voting process private and free from any form of intimidation or coercion.”
Across the nation, the access to cellular telephones with still and video cameras has created a surge in interest in using such devices to confront possible fraud at the polls.
The disenfranchisement of some voters, most notably in Ohio in 2004 and in Florida in 2000, and continued concern in liberal circles about the possibility that electronic voting machines could be compromised have given rise to projects such as the New York Times Polling Place Photo Project.
Another project, Video Your Vote, is a collaboration between PBS and YouTube in which people can upload video they take of their voting experiences, including any problems they encounter. (Read about it at YouTube.com/VideoYourVote.)
Among conservatives, concerns include whether newly registered voters in fact are eligible to vote.
Some voters have called the Nevada County Elections Office with worries about fraud, according to election workers. However, despite some mix-ups in polling places in June, no indications of possible fraud have arisen in recent local elections or in the weeks leading up to the hotly contested general election set for Nov. 4.
But the call to photograph and record activity in polling places on Election Day has Diaz worried about another kind of pressure.
“While the projects encourage people to be aware of the law and to be respectful of the rights of voters, there is no guarantee that people will be respectful of the rights of voters or even be aware that the presence of their camera may be intimidating,” Diaz wrote.
He notes that California’s Constitution, in Article II, Section 7, says, “Voting shall be secret.”
In addition, state law makes it a crime to intimidate a voter in any way, including forcing a person to vote or to refrain from voting, Diaz said.
“Therefore, Nevada County Elections prohibits photography, videography, audio-recording or interviews in polling places unless they are conducted by credentialed media organizations who have received prior permission from the Registrar of Voters and who receives permission for their activities from every single person in the polling place,” Diaz wrote.
“No unauthorized photography, videography, audio recording or interviews will be permitted in Nevada County polling places or within 100 feet of a polling place.”
The Elections Office can be reached at 265-1298.
To contact City Editor Trina Kleist, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call 477-4230.
“Voters are extremely sensitive about their privacy and their right to vote in secret.
Photography or videography in the polling place could well be construed by a typical voter to constitute a ‘tactic of coercion or intimidation,’” which is punishable under state law by up to three years in prison, Diaz said.
Photography and video recording by news media will be allowed, with some restrictions.
If people do see anything that concerns them at the polls, “please notify a poll worker immediately,” Diaz wrote in a letter on the issue. “Our field election deputies will respond as quickly as possible. ... Nevada County is committed to making the voting process private and free from any form of intimidation or coercion.”
Across the nation, the access to cellular telephones with still and video cameras has created a surge in interest in using such devices to confront possible fraud at the polls.
The disenfranchisement of some voters, most notably in Ohio in 2004 and in Florida in 2000, and continued concern in liberal circles about the possibility that electronic voting machines could be compromised have given rise to projects such as the New York Times Polling Place Photo Project.
Another project, Video Your Vote, is a collaboration between PBS and YouTube in which people can upload video they take of their voting experiences, including any problems they encounter. (Read about it at YouTube.com/VideoYourVote.)
Among conservatives, concerns include whether newly registered voters in fact are eligible to vote.
Some voters have called the Nevada County Elections Office with worries about fraud, according to election workers. However, despite some mix-ups in polling places in June, no indications of possible fraud have arisen in recent local elections or in the weeks leading up to the hotly contested general election set for Nov. 4.
But the call to photograph and record activity in polling places on Election Day has Diaz worried about another kind of pressure.
“While the projects encourage people to be aware of the law and to be respectful of the rights of voters, there is no guarantee that people will be respectful of the rights of voters or even be aware that the presence of their camera may be intimidating,” Diaz wrote.
He notes that California’s Constitution, in Article II, Section 7, says, “Voting shall be secret.”
In addition, state law makes it a crime to intimidate a voter in any way, including forcing a person to vote or to refrain from voting, Diaz said.
“Therefore, Nevada County Elections prohibits photography, videography, audio-recording or interviews in polling places unless they are conducted by credentialed media organizations who have received prior permission from the Registrar of Voters and who receives permission for their activities from every single person in the polling place,” Diaz wrote.
“No unauthorized photography, videography, audio recording or interviews will be permitted in Nevada County polling places or within 100 feet of a polling place.”
The Elections Office can be reached at 265-1298.
To contact City Editor Trina Kleist, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call 477-4230.
