YouTube and PBS want you to Video Your Vote

On November 4, Google and PBS are inviting you to document your election day experiences and share them with the world on YouTube.  To this end, YouTube has set up a special Video-Your-Vote channel for uploading your election day videos and for looking at footage other people have sent in.    

Google is glad to accept any sort of voting video you chose to submit at this site. My guess however, is that most of the attention is going to be focused on videos about problems that arise.  If you do grab some good shots of  long lines, a broken voting machine, voters being intimidated, antagonistic campaigning techniques, and the like, post them on this channel to get maximum YouTube attention. Make sure to mark your video with either the tag "videoyourvote", or if you have captured footage of trouble at the polling place with the tag "pollproblem". 

PBS promises to incorporate user-submitted YouTube videos within its election coverage.

If your video is interesting enough it may get picked up by PBS for use on one of its election day shows.  No money is going to change hands if PBS does use some of your footage, but it might earn you some fame. If that's your goal, make sure to seed your YouTube upload with your name and enough contact info so the producers can reach you should they have any questions. 

Be careful about what you shoot on election day.

Videoing at the polling place poses some special challenges.  The laws regarding polling place videography vary considerably from state to state. Some states, including Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and Texas expressly forbid the use of photographic and recording equipment inside the polling place.  Other jurisdictions will let you film your voting experience, but specifies that you cannot aim your camera at anyone else. 

Not sure what is permissible in your jurisdiction? Check out the website run by the Citizen Media Law Project.  Here you will find a video chock full of the do's and don'ts of election day videography as well as links to the specific laws that govern election coverage in each state.  Read the rules and follow them. The penalites for pulling shenanigans at some poling places can be quite severe.  Probably not the best place to let loose your inner Borat for the first time.