Pix from the polls: NowPublic snaps the vote

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Pix from the polls: NowPublic snaps the vote

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NowPublic contributors are snapping the vote.

Here's some of our faves:

Turnout heavy in Pennsylvia polls

Intimidation in Virginia

The gay marriage issue 

"I voted" photojournalism

Turnout high in Penn poll 

Snap The Vote! Grag your mobile camera phone, your digital camera. Show us where you voted - the people who voted around you. The faces, the places, the voting spaces. Help us tell the untold story of millions what it was really like. Talk to others on the way to the polls - turn your franchise into an intimate portrait of American politics.

Please make sure you respect local and federal laws about the use of camera iaround polling areas...you can have a look at this site to get you oriented.

If you upload to flickr, please tag your photos with:

snapthevote

How to Snap The Vote

Photography around voting polls has usually been a monopoly granted to MSM (main-stream media, the big outfits). Either with a letter of permission from the state electoral commission, individual professional photographers are accredited to come in and take pictures, usually for no more than 15 minutes.

Their colleagues, reporters and researchers, often station themselves outside voting areas and conduct "exit polls." They ask people how they voted, and use the results to predict winners long before the polls close.

In recent years, there has been some backlash against this practice, for good and bad reasons. Some voters do feel intimidated, and don't want to be pressured. In other cases, election officials feel like they are losing control.

Many states have enacted legislation restricting "media" access. Last week for example, many large news organizations sued the State of Ohic, asking that these rules be quashed.

Here's the link. The media failed, btw.

So in Ohio, for example, reporters must stay 100 feet away from a polling place. But that's ok! It's plenty close to get wide shots of people going in and out. You can take pictures of yourself and your friends too, and maybe even persuade a voter coming out to tell you her story!

What to do next

When you take a picture, it's a good idea to write down the detail of the shot in a small notebook. Include these simple facts:

• Where: State, city, neighborhood
• Who: You, your fave candidate, names of people you have snapped, etc.
  
• What: the major issue on people's minds? be creative!
• When: maybe your camera will record the time, but if not, jot it down
• Why: you can do this in your tags...but remember to include snapthevote
  

Don't sweat it on the details. We're looking for vitality, adventure, creativity!

Uploading

You can do this easily either at NowPublic.com, by simply clicking on the Add Your News link and following the instructions.

You can also email your photos directly from your camera phone, if it is equipped to do so. Check out instructions on how to configure your equipment here.

You'll also find instructions there about emailing your stories, and even how to submit voice reports directly from your mobile phone!

Snap The Vote

We'll be featuring the best that come in so get your batteries charged! Help return a sense of adventure and dignity to the election process. Tell your story. Make the news public, now.


Many thanks,
Mark Schneider
USA Votes