Tuesday, 06 November 2012
CONTACT:
Brett Abrams
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA -
Video The Vote, a national network of citizen journalists, is
announcing its 2012 Election Day monitoring program, which will feature
a nationwide push encouraging all voters to document disenfranchisement
in their communities.
“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 Matt Pascarella, Video
the Vote Campaign Director. “And with the advent of smart phones and
social media, every voter has the power to make sure that any problems
in their community are recorded and distributed for all the world to
see.”
LIVE MULTIMEDIA UPDATES HERE: http://storify.com/
This
election cycle, Video the Vote is partnering with Ustream, the leader
in live online video to power citizen reporters with a seamless
platform to broadcast election hotspots across the country with the
Ustream mobile app. On Tuesday, November 6th, citizen reporters
will
go live on Ustream from polling locations to keep watch on the voting
process through live video in order to help monitor voting intimidation
and voter suppression in key states throughout the U.S. Video the Vote
is also asking voters to tag their content with #VideoTheVote to ensure
that it can be easily found by the media. “We know from recent
history
what happens when elections are this close. It’s up to us as
voters to
keep watch on our democracy,” said Pascerella.
STREAMING VIDEO GOES LIVE ON TUESDAY: http://www.ustream.tv/user/
Video
the Vote was founded in 2006 in response to the massive voter
disenfranchisement in the elections of 2000 (Florida) and 2004 (Ohio).
In 2012, the need to protect voting rights is as great as ever. This
election season has seen numerous examples of voting rights being
trampled. Voter ID laws have been passed in 33 states, making it
more
difficult for particularly student, elderly and minority voters to cast
ballots. In Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Columbus, billboards were
placed
in African American and Latino neighborhoods advertising the criminal
penalties for voter fraud, an essentially non-existent
problem.
Additionally, a tea party related group called “True the Vote” has
pledged to send volunteers across the country to challenge voters at
the polls.
WHEN YOU #GOVOTE BE READY TO #VIDEOTHEVOTE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
As
in recent elections, Video the Vote volunteers will monitor expected
hot spots, particularly in swing states. The project will also dispatch
videographers who sign up at VideoTheVote.org in response to reports to
the national voter hotline, 1-866-OUR-VOTE. Mr. Pascarella explains,
“... the biggest source of content will likely come from voters who use
smart phones to record problems at their polling stations, and then
upload photos and videos to social media web sites like YouTube,
Twitter and Instagram.”
LIVE MULTIMEDIA UPDATES HERE: http://storify.com/
Video
the Vote will have citizen journalists and professional Ustream crews
at polling locations in the following states. For
up-to-the-minute
updates on polling locations and local contacts to answer questions in
the following states, please see:
OHIO: http://storify.com/
FLORIDA: http://storify.com/
NEVADA: http://storify.com/
COLORADO: http://storify.com/
PENNSYLVANIA: http://storify.com/
NORTH CAROLINA: http://storify.com/
VIRGINIA: http://storify.com/
NEW MEXICO: http://storify.com/
WISCONSIN: http://storify.com/
For
additional information about local spokespeople and streaming election
night polling place footage from Video the Vote - please contact Brett
Abrams at 516-841-1105 or by email at brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com
Video the Vote is a national network of citizen journalists, independent filmmakers, and media professionals working together to protect voter rights by documenting voting irregularities. Since 2006, Video the Vote volunteers have captured hundreds of videos from across the nation documenting the many obstacles that voters face at the polls: long lines, broken voting machines, incorrectly applied laws, and outright intimidation. Their videos have been used by numerous media outlets as well as for evidence in courts and Congressional Hearings. Interested volunteers can sign up at VideoTheVote.org.