Get Off The Internet And Vote

October 7, 2004 12:24 PM

Get Off The Internet And Vote
1. Take a picture of yourself at the polls on November 2, 2004.
2. Take a picture of your voter registration paperwork
3. Send both pictures to the address contest-AT-getofftheinternetandvote-DOT-com
4. All valid entrants will win a small prize, shipped to them for free, merely for entering. One entrant will win the grand prize.
brought to you by drew and natalie
posted by bob sarabia (22 comments total)

Great! any little incentive will definitely help, but i'm not sure it's legal to take pics at the polls--is it?
posted by amberglow at 12:29 PM on October 7, 2004

They're just asking you to take a picture of yourself inside the polling place. or outside if you want to. I think that's ok though.
posted by bob sarabia at 12:31 PM on October 7, 2004

What about people in Oregon? We only vote by mail.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 12:38 PM on October 7, 2004

They want a picture/photo id, address AND signature (IIRC, you sign your voter registration paperwork, right)? Am I really paranoid, or does it sounds like a good opportunity for sly identity theft? More like "Get On The Internet and Send Us All Your Personal Information So We Can Issue A Credit Card In Your Name."

Oh wait, there's a caveat on the front page: "...you may edit the second photograph to remove sensitive information such as your SSN." I remain cynical. This sounds like a scam.
posted by naxosaxur at 12:55 PM on October 7, 2004

natalie and drew are good peoples. no worries needed.
posted by lotsofno at 1:00 PM on October 7, 2004

natalie and drew are good peoples. no worries needed.

Apart from the occasional random threats of stabbing.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 1:02 PM on October 7, 2004

Does nataliedee pay some sort of licensing fee to explodingdog or is it an homage?
posted by milovoo at 1:09 PM on October 7, 2004

I'm not sure this is actualy legal.
posted by delmoi at 1:26 PM on October 7, 2004

I'm not sure this is actualy legal.

Does it count as bribery if it's just an incentive to vote, not an incentive to vote for a specific candidate? If it does, it shouldn't, to my mind.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 1:33 PM on October 7, 2004

heh. internet "celebrities".

...and yes, me thinks it's illegal - sorta like not taking pictures at the airport customs line.
posted by naxosaxur at 1:33 PM on October 7, 2004

If I might win that grand prize by voting, I'm staying home.

On a more serious note, I guess no one who votes absentee (including the entire state of Oregon) is eligable?
posted by falconred at 1:41 PM on October 7, 2004

Man, what a crabby bunch you are. I think it's a good idea.
posted by GriffX at 1:44 PM on October 7, 2004

I'm going to enter, but take the pic outside my polling place, and black out all the personal info on my voting stuff.
posted by amberglow at 1:48 PM on October 7, 2004

Seeing the FPP I was a bit wary, but if it's Drew running this I might actually participate.

If I can find a digital camera, that is.
posted by neckro23 at 1:57 PM on October 7, 2004

Falconred, read the contest. You can enter if it's absentee.

Drew and Natalie are excellent people, indeed.

But I'm disappointed that this is being spread around so soon. Lessens the chance of winning! Although if it gets people to vote, excellent.

I also don't see what's so possibly illegal about it.
posted by agregoli at 1:58 PM on October 7, 2004

for fucksake people, read the link.

5. The spirit of this contest is to get people to vote, not disqualify them based on technicalities. You can submit a picture of yourself holding a ballot stub instead of voter registration material, a picture of yourself outside the polling place instead of inside, etc. Just prove you voted using pictures, that is all you have to do.

6. We are not offering goods in exchange for your vote. We are giving out prizes for entries to a politically-minded photography contest. We do not endorse any particular candidate or political party.

WHAT ABOUT ABSENTEE VOTING.
Submit a photograph of your absentee voting form in lieu of the poll photo. You must still submit proof of voter registration.
posted by bob sarabia at 1:59 PM on October 7, 2004

I'm not sure this is actualy legal.

The Republican Party, desperate to prevent as many people from voting as possible, have already tried to ban new registrations based on paper thickness and press charges against Michael Moore for giving college students ramen noodles.

Rest assured if there's even an obscure hundred-year-old clause in the local salvage code that could invalidate your vote, they'll let you know about it by tomorrow's news cycle.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 2:28 PM on October 7, 2004

Apparently it's illegal. Slate explains. Although I'm not sure I understand the rationale.
posted by dness2 at 3:21 PM on October 7, 2004

Grand prize should be kicking Bush's butt all the way back to Texas. And the steel-toed boots to do it in.
posted by rushmc at 4:04 PM on October 7, 2004

It's definitely illegal.

Whoever [...] pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both...

On preview: dness2 got it.
posted by kickingtheground at 6:09 PM on October 7, 2004

Consider this though:

We are not offering goods in exchange for your vote. We are giving out prizes for entries to a politically-minded photography contest. We do not endorse any particular candidate or political party.

It says they're giving prizes based on a photography contest, not based on voting exactly. So I'm not sure it is illegal, and I bet drew and natalie already know about this.
posted by bob sarabia at 6:13 PM on October 7, 2004

1. This kicks ass.

2. You're all a bunch of whiners.
posted by fraying at 11:57 PM on October 7, 2004