No-camera edict at polls criticized

Watchdog groups on Thursday said a ban on cameras at polling places throughout Westmoreland County could lead to a cover-up of potential problems with electronic voting.

On Wednesday, members of the county election board unanimously approved prohibiting the use of any video recording device or camera inside polling places.

Westmoreland County officials said the ban, which bars anyone from taking pictures or videos of any electronic voting systems, ballots, district registers, election officials or electors inside the polls, was enacted to limit confusion and disruptive behavior on Election Day.

"There is no evidence that cameras have ever caused disruption, confusion, chaos, or other problems in Westmoreland County polls," said Mary Beth Kuznik, executive director of Vote Pa., a statewide group that has lobbied to improve monitoring of electronic voting.

"This directive is concerning. Whether the Westmoreland County Election Board intends this or not, the question will be asked if they have something to hide. And that question, coming less than a week before this major election, may severely undermine voter confidence and create mistrust in the results next Tuesday, which is something that we all want to avoid," Kuznik said.

The ban came in response to an alert issued by state officials, who suggested a campaign sponsored by the Public Broadcasting System and YouTube asking for videos of voting experiences could create problems at the polls, according to Westmoreland officials.

The state asked county election boards to formulate a policy on electronic equipment in the polls.

Liz Rincon, executive director of the Pennsylvania League of Young Voters, said cameras at the polls would allow the public to have confidence in the process. Rincon's organization recently was given a video camera to record voting on Election Day.

"In the age of technology we would get to see the footage in real time and document history being made. Nobody's trying to document who someone's voting for, nothing sinister like that," Rincon said.

Kuznik said the ban might prompt her to resign from her position as judge of elections in the county.

"I have to think about it if it puts me in a position to violate someone's rights," Kuznik said.

Westmoreland County Elections Bureau Director Jim Montini said yesterday he was aware of no complaints about the ban.