Ken Menzel's words are very thoughtful. However, I would seriously, seriously doubt that they would allow you to take photos. Even if you try to plan some arrangement beforehand. Think of all the volunteers and workers at a polling place. It takes only one of them to deem such activies as unfit.
It's interesting in this day and age when digital photography is so commonplace that people are hypersensitive about the medium. I'd think that people would become accustomed to some "kid" with their SLR or cameraphone snapping pictures in any sort of environment.
Part of the paranoia is related to 9/11 and terrorism. However, I think a large portion of the paranoia is a generation gap. Older people don't like "kids" running around snapping pictures of everything because the older generation did not grow up with such opportunistic technology. The cost for film, developing film, and printing photographs prevented people from taking photos anywhere and everywhere that we now see in the digital age.
Personally, I wouldn't risk getting kicked out and as a result, losing my opportunity to vote because some 80 year old volunteer thinks there should be no photography. This election is too important for someone to rob me of my vote.
I'll tell you what the real root of the issue is. It's people's self-perception. They don't want their photo posed online. They don't want to A) Risk looking bad or fat or something. "What if the photo of me makes me look bad? I don't want that online?" B) They don't want to risk having a photo of themselves being used in a context they dont' like. Even if you look good in the photo, what if your photo ended up being used as a joke where someone draws a word balloon over your head having you say something stupid? Or what if they use your photo as part of an ad for via-gra or something.
That's the real fear. It's the loss of control of where the photo will be used. It's a loss of trust in the photographer.
That being said, i'm still going to try to shoot something. I don't know what. And if they raise a stink, i'll simply tell them that i'm photographing it with no people. But that's gonna be the trick--getting no people in the photo.
Posted by: spudart on Oct 17, 08 | 9:45 am
Yea, it'll be tricky getting a photo in a polling booth with no people in it, cuz everyone is gonna be out voting for OBAMA! Oh yea!
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We're launching a project to collect photos of as many area polling places as possible before the election. Do you know where your polling place is? Do you pass it everyday? Snap a photo of it and tag it "pollingplace" to be included.
jack
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Link Building Posted by: jackjack on Oct 20, 08 | 12:36 am
Hmm, I wonder what "vote fraud" issues might arise from the fact that I took a picture of me tapping the screen in my own polling booth - since that's what I did. Despite the fact that I was using a D40, hardly a stealthy camera, no one noticed or said anything. I was already rummaging in my backpack to get out my ballot cheat-sheet (stupid judicial elections!), so that provided good enough cover I guess.
Posted by: Eric on Oct 23, 08 | 10:50 am
We supposedly cast ballots in secret, so how can they know that you've photographed yourself voting?
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