[EL] Appearance of recording devices at polling places?

[David A. Holtzman]

"Yes I know it's a gun, but I etched my voting choices on its handle.  
Saving a tree, y'know!"

{Thank you for the link.  It's a very interesting paper.}

{BTW, I once had myself filmed at a polling place ... see 
http://bit.ly/U54HYM} -dh


On 11/2/2012 1:18 PM, Joseph Lorenzo Hall wrote:
> We recently published work that raised this growing issue in the
> context of security and privacy of the polling place (
> https://josephhall.org/papers/jhall-evtwote12.pdf ).
>
> The kicker is that some people seem to want to use their smartphones
> as a "cheat sheet" and either store their ballot choices there or
> bookmark pages that might go through ballot choices for reference
> while voting.  And, as we reference in the paper, there are
> applications for Android and iOS (iPhone) that are meant to be
> substitutes for the voter guide (you sign up to "save trees" by using
> the app voter guide and it stores your choices). So, in at least those
> counties (three CA counties) it will be problematic to ban smartphone
> usage.
>
> As a security and privacy guy, there's so much potential for abuse of
> these kinds of devices... not in the "hacking machines" sense but in
> the "undue influence" sense. However, I'm not sure there's much that
> we can do about their presence.
>
> Certainly, poll workers should be alert to anything approaching
> intimidation and discourage photography and video in the polling place
> during voting hours (it should be no big deal before or after polls
> are live). best, Joe
>
> On Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 3:31 PM, David A. Holtzman <David at holtzmanlaw.com> wrote:
>> In polling places, it's not just talking to people who have come to vote
>> that can be intimidating.  Taking pictures, or looking like you might be
>> taking pictures, can be intimidating as well.  (Especially when a voter
>> might be carrying a marked ballot, or while a voter is marking a ballot.)
>>
>> The post below and this
>> (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/01/project-orca-mitt-romney_n_2052861.html)
>> "Project ORCA" thing (what does that stand for?) made me think.  I, for one,
>> would have a hard time not using my phone or iPad's camera if I was sitting
>> all day in a polling place, with the device in my hands, waiting to check in
>> each voter.  I'd simply want to document the experience.
>>
>> But having such a device out could be offensive and intimidating to a voter
>> who knows what it can do.
>>
>> Can/should/do election officials prohibit the use or display of
>> camera-containing devices at polling places (unless everyone in the room
>> consents to photography)?
>>
>> How about having opaque tape on hand and asking people to tape over their
>> lenses before they use such devices?  How about if people bring and use
>> their own tape?
>>
>> Then how about microphone-containing devices?  I imagine officials ban
>> talking on cell phones inside polling places, but smartphones can record
>> audio.  What are the rules, or should the rules be, on
>> cellphones/smartphones/similar devices?  Keep it in your pocket/purse?
>>
>>    - David Holtzman
>>
>> p.s  I understand that some smartphone addicts might rather leave the
>> polling place than wait on line if they're not allowed to use their devices
>> while waiting!  But most serious line haters probably already vote by mail.
>> And I guess the vast majority of smartphone users are engaged enough with
>> some in-person or online community to be motivated voters, and so would
>> endure a phoneless wait to vote (and vote by mail next time!).
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 11/2/2012 9:28 AM, john.k.tanner at gmail.com wrote:
>>
>> I am amazed that the VA Democrats are filing suit, in effect, to allow True
>> the Vote poll watchers to talk directly to voters. This is an invitation for
>> poll watchers to harassment of minority voters.  Poll watchers should never
>> talk to voters in the polls, only to poll workers. Otherwise things can
>> rapidly spiral out of control. This is nuts.
>> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Rick Hasen <rhasen at law.uci.edu>
>> Sender: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu
>> Date: Fri, 2 Nov 2012 09:08:42
>> To: law-election at UCI.edu<law-election at UCI.edu>
>> Subject: [EL] ELB News and Commentary 11/2/12
>>
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>>
>> --
>> David A. Holtzman, M.P.H., J.D.
>> david at holtzmanlaw.com
>>
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