KNOW YOUR VOTING RIGHTS
Across the state, local clerks, their staff, and election workers work hard to make sure every eligible voter can cast a ballot – and every vote is counted. Local clerks recruit community members to be poll workers, maintain polling locations, and carry out the checks and balances that protect every ballot.
Elections belong to the people. Every eligible voter should have equal say in the decisions that impact our lives. Know your voting rights. Practice your voting rights.
Know Your Tech: Drones
What are they?
Unlike the large rocket-propelling drones used overseas, domestic drones are small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that carry cameras and are controlled by a human operator. They are used by both the government and private sector for a variety of purposes: from scientific research to agriculture to aiding dangerous police tactical operations.
The tiny helicopters are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has only permitted a small number of domestic law enforcement agencies to operate drones. However, there is increasing pressure from industry and law enforcement to permit domestic drones and expand their use.
The concern
Drone use creates many privacy concerns that aren't addressed by existing laws, most of which were written back when 'surveillance' was a police officer following the suspect's car. Now, technology like high powered night vision cameras and see-through imaging provide incredible detail and exacerbate privacy issues.
Networking drones with analytics software, face recognition, license plate scanning, and wireless internet could make it possible to easily track specific individuals or vehicles in a way that our laws couldn't have anticipated.
Not only are drones a concern in traditional surveillance use, what's to stop police departments from expanding drone use from surveillance to actual intervention in law enforcement situations on the ground? Airborne technologies could be developed that could, for example, be used to control or dispel protesters, stop a fleeing vehicle, or even deploy weapons.