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CLICK STATE TO SEE:
"WATCH LIST"
Marked with: 
"OPEN & HONEST"
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| Looking for more guidance on the Cand... |
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From the Mailbag
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Mailbag
Post Number: 22
Registered: 10-2005
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Saturday, January 7, 2006 - 5:53 am: | 
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Looking for more guidance on "Candid America" citizen videotaping:
Are you saying that any citizen has the right and should walk into an(any) election precinct and video tape ?
Do you have to become part of the election team or reside in that precinct?
Are you suggesting we go to other precincts that have DRE's
How can you capture on video central tabulator fraud?
Or are you asking to be on the lookout for Deibold technician vans -(which I have seen) and follow them?
I'm not clear on your call to action-are you targeting certain states or counties?
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From the Mailbag
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Mailbag
Post Number: 27
Registered: 10-2005
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Saturday, January 7, 2006 - 6:43 am: |
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e-mailed from Angie N: This is the best idea ever. Why didn't someone think of this before?
Is there a way the other party can take the camera away, some law they can invent?
This is a brilliant idea!
Sincerely
Angie N...Philly |
From the Mailbag
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Mailbag
Post Number: 26
Registered: 10-2005
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Saturday, January 7, 2006 - 6:18 am: |
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From Sheila P.:
Do you have any info about where to buy an inexpensive and light weight video camera? |
BBV Admin
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 3135
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Saturday, January 7, 2006 - 6:27 am: |
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Are you saying that any citizen has the right and should walk into an(any) election precinct and video tape ?
BBV: No. That's not legal. But you can videotape if you stand 100 feet away (laws vary, but that's typical). That will document long lines, as happened in Ohio and Florida. It can document polls that open late, thereby disenfranchising voters. It can document polls that "run out of ballots" or where people are turned away, because if you are polite, you can ask people what happened if several appear to be frustrated.
Do you have to become part of the election team or reside in that precinct?
BBV: No. Remember, the Election Protection effort, while well intended, focused on watching the voting. It is even more important to watch the election preparations, the counting, and the post-election procedures, because that's where much of the evidence is actually found.
Are you suggesting we go to other precincts that have DRE's
from BBV: This is not about DREs, or even just voting machines. Your ability to oversee your elections has been stripped from you. You'll see that very quickly when you attempt to videotape the situations on the list we provided.
How can you capture on video central tabulator fraud?
From BBV: You never know what you're going to get.
- In King County in Sept. 2004 we observed the tabulator crashing and repeated, almost horrific modem glitches that can be symptomatic of an outside hacker.
- We saw floppy disks going from one machine to the other.
- We saw a results report handed out that didn't match the Internet, and then the elections chief hurriedly collected it.
- In Los Angeles, I saw a bait and switch where the elections registrar told the press the tallying was happening in one room, when actually it was in a different room we couldn't see.
- In Riverside Calif., a technician from Denver sat down at the tabulator, pulled a disk out of his shirt pocket, and uploaded something. Then he put the disk back in his pocket, hopped on a plane and went back to Denver.
- In Palm Beach, citizens videotaped yellow crime tape blocking off the elections office, and there was also refusal to turn over some voting results.
- Consider the value of a live video of the Ohio County that said it was "on lockdown" due to Homeland Security, which later turned out to be bogus.
You never know what you're going to get.
Or are you asking to be on the lookout for Deibold technician vans -(which I have seen) and follow them?
No. Those are just ATM servicemen. Best to stick to the list of what to observe that we provided:
Throughout the 2006 election cycle starting now, choose anything from this list:
-- public meetings
-- certification hearings
-- testing
-- ballot preparation
-- election-related activities by third-party vendors
-- any meetings you are able to schedule with vendors or public officials
-- early voting procedures
-- election training activities
-- pre-election equipment and materials transport and handling
-- voting day activities
-- VOTE COUNTING (all phases including videotaping chain of custody)
-- "depots" and drop-off sites
-- "spot check audits"
-- absentee ballot processing
-- mid-election and post-election equipment and materials transport and handling
-- explanations policies and procedures
-- explanations of any "glitches"
-- post-election canvassing meetings
-- any obstructive behavior, intimidation tactics, evasive or nonresponsive actions
I'm not clear on your call to action-are you targeting certain states or counties?
BBV: The more the better, because you never know the situation until you go see for yourself; a situation that looks bad in one election can look good the next, because they know someone will be watching; likewise, a situation that looked good can turn bad in a hurry.
The list of what kind of video opportunities are most important is based on 15 months in the field by investigators from Black Box Voting.
If citizens follow the tips in the link below, and use their own ingenuity, amazing things will happen. It doesn't take 40,000 citizens. It takes a few citizens who capture something important and use their innate common sense.
Here are the officials tips:
http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/6/15733.html
Let us know how it goes!
BBV staff
To our experienced BBV-ers: If you get a chance, please list any actual events from real elections where it would have been great to have video. That will help paint a picture of how helpful the Candid America intiative will be.
Thanks,
Bev |
From the Mailbag
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Mailbag
Post Number: 23
Registered: 10-2005
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Saturday, January 7, 2006 - 6:00 am: |
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From Daniel D., a documentary film producer:
Hi..
I've forwarded your "Candid America" announcement to my mailing list. I've also added the following, which you may distribute if you so choose,
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Nearly everyone owns, or has access to, a camcorder. So two can play the surveillance game.... at public meetings and demonstrations, and in keeping our public officials and voting systems honest.
Black Box Voting is encouraging the systematic-but-decentralized use of video to gather evidence of improprieties connected with privatized voting.
With that said, it's important to know your rights when shooting photos or video in public places.
Here's a succinct guide, written by a lawyer, that provides some excellent general guidance. Download it, print it out, and keep it with your camcorder: www.krages.com/phoright.htm
Please note a couple of the reminders in the article below:
- Keep your battery charged
- Keep extra blank tapes available
a few more:
- Keep enough charged batteries available to handle the extra blank tapes! (And use the largest batteries available for your camera.)
- When shooting, keep any zooms and camera moves purposeful -- gratuitous zooming and "garden-hosing" makes the video hard to watch, and looks amateurish.
Let the subject matter guide your moves. Need to see more detail? Zoom in.
Need to include more of the environment? Zoom out.
- When in doubt, keep the zoom as wide as it will go -- this will also keep your images steadier and is more likely to catch action you'd miss when zoomed in. If you must be discreet (i.e. holding the camera casually without looking through it) keeping the zoom wide will increase your chances of catching the action.
- You'll probably be using your camera's (lousy) built-in microphone to capture audio, so if sound or words are important, stay as close to the subject as practicable under the circumstances.
- If you are forcibly discouraged from shooting video, put the lens cap on if you must, and keep the camcorder running to capture audio.
- Don't be confrontational, but whenever possible someone in the background should be ready to shoot any confrontations that may arise between you and anyone trying to prevent you from shooting. The more cameras on the scene the
better.
- Learn how to make digital copies of your tapes -- never let the original tapes out of your hands. If you've captured incriminating evience, keep your original tapes in a secure or non-obvious location.
- Without fail, label each tape with the subject, the date, and your phone number, and indicate whether the tape is an original or a copy.
- When you remove a recorded tape from the camcorder, be sure to write-protect the cassette immediately, to prevent its accidentally being recorded over. On Mini-DV tapes, there's a shutter on the back edge of the cassette that you slide OPEN. On 8mm/Hi-8 tapes, you slide the shutter CLOSED. On VHS tapes there's a plastic tab that you pry out and discard.
- If your tapes should get confiscated you may still be able to shoot low-quality MPEG video on your camcorder's memory card, if it has one (get the biggest card you can afford). This may be better than nothing.
- Get familiar with your camera and practice its use beforehand. In the heat of battle there will be little opportunity to read the manual! Too much trouble? Weigh the tradeoffs, then decide.
(from BBV staff) Thanks, Daniel, for these helpful suggestions. |
From the Mailbag
Voting Rights Forum Participant
Username: Mailbag
Post Number: 25
Registered: 10-2005
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Saturday, January 7, 2006 - 6:07 am: |
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From H.E.:
Great!- 'Candid America' Election video project
I have been prohibited from bringing cameras around polling stations which does not enable me to help much.
From my 1200 hours of video experience I recommend placing the microphone on a fishing pole withing 6 inches and no more than 12 inches from the speaker. With stereo one can be clipped to interigator and the other placed close to the person being examined. Pictures of the person speaking are not very good at 6 inches and not much better at 12 inches.
With excellent sound TV audiences and even the Judge will not miss a single erroneous action by the public official. Just presence of Public Access will destroy casual behavior of the old boy's or/and girl's network.
I could use help knowing when the possible significant events would happen in public. I have tried to get my supervisor to acknowledge that I would like acknowledgement that my vote was counted. So Far my supervisor has evaded me except by promising action in a letter never acomplished. Usually I put my ballot in some kind of official black hole where it may stick to other ballots or be ignored in some other kind of ingenious way.
Thanks, H. From admin: BBV-ers, I've e-mailed him the link to this page. Note his request for guidance: "I could use help knowing when the possible significant events would happen in public." -- Providing examples of times when we wish we'd had video, or when we were sure glad we did, may be helpful for him. -- Bev |
BBV Admin
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 3134
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Saturday, January 7, 2006 - 6:15 am: |
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Here are some more tips gathered from Black Box Voting's Online Think Tank, from Robert Carrillo Cohen, a documentary film maker:
1. It is best to be as unobtrusive / noticeable as possible.
2. When the above is not possible and people try to stop you from filming it is ideal to get as much of the obstruction recorded as possible.
3. People are both afraid of cameras and enamored of them. Whenever possible make the person feel that the camera is serving them.
4. When you are in a confrontational situation and decide to not back down, don’t be defensive. Just stick to your points.
When filming election officials on election night, or in their office, or at hearings, etc., an issue that may arise is your right to shoot. In San Diego we were told that a public meeting wasn't public because only one member of the election board was meeting with activists and one board member wasn't a "legislative" body. The board's councel was citing one word out of the Brown Act as a means of denying our rights.
At that point it becomes an issue of either suing them or facing your rights to proceed with the authorities.
I would suggest that everyone who is filming take a look at or keep a copy of their local laws that pertain to the openness of government proceedings. In California the law which guarantees the public's right to attend, participate and record at meetings of local legislative bodies is the Ralph M. Brown Act. |
BBV Admin
Board Administrator
Username: Admin
Post Number: 3136
Registered: 12-2004
Best of Black Box? N/A
Votes: 0 (A keeper?) | | Posted on Saturday, January 7, 2006 - 6:59 am: |
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To Angie N: Well, the "butterfly ballot queen" - Palm Beach County's Theresa LePore -- passed a "law" that said no one could stand in a perfectly public place and videotape the long lines of elderly voters who were staggering in the heat. She tried to get local police to stop journalists from filming.
How an elections official thinks they can pass a law single-handed is beyond me.
However, it isn't so much "the other party" who may obstruct you, but rather, public officials who don't like oversight. Scott Konopasek, the (fired) registrar of voters from San Bernadino County Calif. reportedly stated that he didn't think citizens should be allowed to oversee elections, we should "leave it to the professionals." Hmmph!
The documentary film guys contributed tips for how to deal with obstruction, which you can find by reading through this thread for the posts from Daniel D. and Robert Carrillo Cohen.
Another suggestion, for those who really want to get serious, is to invest $350 in a hidden camera for your shirt, hat or purse. You can get these from the Spy Shop, but be careful. In many states it violates wiretapping laws to secretly record people. It is the audio that creates the legal problem, not the visual.
IF YOU ARE IN A PUBLIC MEETING or IF YOU ARE STANDING IN THE PUBLIC AREA OF A PUBLIC OFFICE, you almost certainly have the right to video, whether they tell you not to or not. If you are very sure that the law gives you the right to film, yet you suspect they will try to stop you, consider a hidden camera, which will put the burden of proof on the public official who wrongfully withholds your right.
When carrying an obvious camera, if you are told you can't videotape -- even if that's an illegal requirement -- your option will be to decide whether to let them arrest you or put the camera down. Nowadays, it is not uncommon for arrests with charges dropped to be used as a temporary blocking procedure for citizens trying to oversee time-critical events.
If it's crystal clear that the law allows you to videotape and you expect a public official to illegally block you for time-sensitive tactical reasons, the $350 hidden camera may be a good option. That way, you avoid confrontation. the subject never comes up. When the video appears on the Web there really isn't much the public official can do about it. If you use a hidden camera, even in a public meeting, it is most courteous to focus the lens on public officials, not private citizens. |
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