Is this legal under Federal law?

M

MeekAndMild

New member
I hear a lot of stuff back and forth about this party and that party and who is better than who but I know for a fact that in my neck of the woods I've seen Democrats rig elections but I've never seen Republicans do it. The last time one of my Republican friends lost a judgeship election and complained about voter fraud he was told outright that "the FBI will not investigate your allegations unless you are a(n) (ethnic minority)".

So here is my question. Is it legal under Federal law for a citizen to go to the polls wired for videotaping to record poll workers actively rigging elections? This is an hypothetical question and does not signal any intention to perform nor encouragement for anyone else to perform any illegal activities.
 
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And what did you do

You claim you've seen Democrats rig elections. What did you do as a witness to these events. Or is it just you believe the elections were rigged becasue you did not like the results? Making an accusation is a fairly serious thing to do unless you personally saw the events transpire.
 
More than once in more than one polling place over a space of over 30 years and considering I don't need any unwanted fires started, not anything. You will recall I'm called "MeekAndMild" and not "MachoMan" or "WildAlaska". ;)

In a Democratic precinct in a Democratic county with a Democratic probate judge you just don't waltz in and say "I heard Ms. Soandso telling voters who to vote for and offer to fill out their ballots". You might want to consider the Tammany Hall effect. :eek:

(And I trust the word of my friend who lost the judge's race in his county due to some rigged boxes and what he said about the (Clinton era) FBI refusing to process his allegations.)



But, back to the point of the post, is it legal under Federal law to bring a video recording device into a polling place to record what is taking place while you're voting? If it is legal and produced evidence of wrongdoing then the questions about who saw what would be moot wouldn't they?
 
Let's reverse your question and instead ask where in the Constitution the federal government might find the power to make it illegal to use a video recorder at the polls? (The question will soon become: does use of a video recorder at the polls affect interstate commerce?)
 
You have three issues to worry about:

FIRST, are you in a "one party recording" state? If you are, it's basically legal to WEAR a bug (or hidden camera setup) but it's never legal to leave one somewhere. In a "two party recording" state, recording somebody without their knowing is illegal. See also:

http://www.pimall.com/nais/n.recordlaw.html

Second: it's usually illegal for you to record how you voted (so you could sell your vote) and it's also usually illegal to record how somebody else voted (you could threaten to breaka-you-legga if they voted "wrong"). This is also why you don't get a "reciept" showing how you voted.

Third, many states have general "no cameras in polling places" rules due to the previous point.

Now...with all that said, spotting election fraud is a stone-cold beech and the worst episodes don't happen in the polling places. Keep an eye on this space, I'll be posting something on this subject in the next day or two when it's finished. Been there, done that...see also:

http://www.bbvforums.org/cgi-bin/forums/board-auth.cgi?file=/1954/71690.html

http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/8556.html?1122679073

http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/8568.html?1122662813

http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/1954/9425.html?1124737282

If I knew which state you were in I could tell you what kind of equipment and security holes you're facing...

Jim March
Member of the Board of Directors, http://blackboxvoting.org
Technical consultant, electronic voting systems, Pima County Democratic Party (Tucson AZ)
Member, Libertarian Party :). (Errr...usually. I need to switch back after jumping GOP briefly to vote for Dr. Paul...)
 
You spelled Barak wrong in your signature......

Sorry -
Actually, I was going to suggest PM'ing Jim March, but I see he chimed in.
 
Call your video recording device a self protection device, your intent is to record your killers photo and action. Making your self a walking TV station. If they can do it , You can do it.

Side Walk Cameras, Red Light Cameras, Security Cameras, Ass Cameras.

In court, it seems that your not breaking any laws recording in any public place. A person is not expected to have a private life within the public places.

Coming to a place near you soon is the Well Fare Check Camera. A camera in every home will insure your well being and security.
 
I saw a story on the news today about this ladies pot belly pig getting it's application in the mail for a voter registration card.
 
Not here in New Mexico! W.A. they have muft the last three election!

Wrong counts, Bad Counts, No keys for the machines, Not enough ballots, It took New MEXICO almost three weeks to show a number. :barf:
 
You have three issues to worry about:

FIRST, are you in a "one party recording" state? If you are, it's basically legal to WEAR a bug (or hidden camera setup) but it's never legal to leave one somewhere. In a "two party recording" state, recording somebody without their knowing is illegal. See also:
Click to expand...

Most of what was written regarding the legality of taping in a public place, on matters and events of public concern, is just plain wrong. If you're concerned, consult a local attorney. Most of the wiretapping statutes (where the differentiation between "one party' and "two party" states comes in) refer to phone conversations or private conversations with expectations of privacy. Filming activities, such as the activities of election workers, in public places with no expectation of privacy, is generally never prohibited. Again, if concerned, consult a local attorney. Here's a fairly informative site:

http://www.rcfp.org/taping/
 
Tell that to people who've been prosecuted in New Hampshire and Florida that I know of, for taping police officers and gov't officials in action.
 
You can talk to your local party about becoming an election observer.
Theoretically an election observer looks for irregularities and records when the happen and notifies the proper authorities.

In practice election observers have often been used to subvert the process.

Also in practice election fraud has happened before anyone enters the pools and after the pools close.
Some poll worker telling people how to vote pales in comparison to a "clerical" error that removes thousands of voters from the polls. Some guy voting illegally doesn't stack up boxes of ballots that fall off the back of a truck.
 
Tell that to people who've been prosecuted in New Hampshire and Florida that I know of, for taping police officers and gov't officials in action.
Click to expand...

And where were they while taping? Were these private conversations where there was a reasonable expectation of privacy? What were the outcomes? Details matter.
 
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