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Video the Vote asks citizen journalists to do more than just cast a ballot.
Voting Rights Group Empowers Citizen Journalists to "Fight Back"
Video the Vote calls on voters to "Shoot" and "Share" poll suppression and intimidation
Nov 05, 2012
Voting rights group Video the Vote calls on citizen journalists to take action at polling places tomorrow.
The campaign is asking anyone with a smartphone to be on the alert for fishiness at the polls and to video any incidents or irregularities such as long lines, closed polls, denied voters, police presence and intimidation.
"In an era of partisan voter purges, onerous ID requirements, and organized intimidation, it's not enough for citizens to just cast their ballots," said Video The Vote's campaign director, Matt Pascarella.
Video the Vote is compiling citizen submissions on their site and has dispatched videographers to monitor specific swing state hot spots.
As of Monday morning, videos documenting police intimidation in Columbus, Oh., long lines in Baltimore and voters being turned away in Miami, are already streaming on their site.
As we count down the hours to this frighteningly close election, we are constantly reminded of the importance of each and every vote--particularly in those battleground states.
As Josh Harkinson writes in Mother Jones:
Judging from recent experience, close presidential elections tend to coincide with problems at the polls. Remember the 2000 election's butterfly ballots and dangling chads? Or, four years later, the 10-hour lines in Knox County, Ohio?
The prevalence of intimidation tactics and voter suppression in the months (and days) leading up to tomorrow's election are, perhaps, an indication of what to expect. Video the Vote hopes to empower citizens to do something about it.
Watch their video below to learn how you can take part.
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Voting rights group Video the Vote calls on citizen journalists to take action at polling places tomorrow.
The campaign is asking anyone with a smartphone to be on the alert for fishiness at the polls and to video any incidents or irregularities such as long lines, closed polls, denied voters, police presence and intimidation.
"In an era of partisan voter purges, onerous ID requirements, and organized intimidation, it's not enough for citizens to just cast their ballots," said Video The Vote's campaign director, Matt Pascarella.
Video the Vote is compiling citizen submissions on their site and has dispatched videographers to monitor specific swing state hot spots.
As of Monday morning, videos documenting police intimidation in Columbus, Oh., long lines in Baltimore and voters being turned away in Miami, are already streaming on their site.
As we count down the hours to this frighteningly close election, we are constantly reminded of the importance of each and every vote--particularly in those battleground states.
As Josh Harkinson writes in Mother Jones:
Judging from recent experience, close presidential elections tend to coincide with problems at the polls. Remember the 2000 election's butterfly ballots and dangling chads? Or, four years later, the 10-hour lines in Knox County, Ohio?
The prevalence of intimidation tactics and voter suppression in the months (and days) leading up to tomorrow's election are, perhaps, an indication of what to expect. Video the Vote hopes to empower citizens to do something about it.
Watch their video below to learn how you can take part.
Voting rights group Video the Vote calls on citizen journalists to take action at polling places tomorrow.
The campaign is asking anyone with a smartphone to be on the alert for fishiness at the polls and to video any incidents or irregularities such as long lines, closed polls, denied voters, police presence and intimidation.
"In an era of partisan voter purges, onerous ID requirements, and organized intimidation, it's not enough for citizens to just cast their ballots," said Video The Vote's campaign director, Matt Pascarella.
Video the Vote is compiling citizen submissions on their site and has dispatched videographers to monitor specific swing state hot spots.
As of Monday morning, videos documenting police intimidation in Columbus, Oh., long lines in Baltimore and voters being turned away in Miami, are already streaming on their site.
As we count down the hours to this frighteningly close election, we are constantly reminded of the importance of each and every vote--particularly in those battleground states.
As Josh Harkinson writes in Mother Jones:
Judging from recent experience, close presidential elections tend to coincide with problems at the polls. Remember the 2000 election's butterfly ballots and dangling chads? Or, four years later, the 10-hour lines in Knox County, Ohio?
The prevalence of intimidation tactics and voter suppression in the months (and days) leading up to tomorrow's election are, perhaps, an indication of what to expect. Video the Vote hopes to empower citizens to do something about it.
Watch their video below to learn how you can take part.
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