Election Day (2007)

Election Day portrays voting-day preparations and interactions in 12 U.S. cities, from Stockholm, Wisc. (population 97) to Chicago and New York City. It begins by shadowing a Republican committeeman as he assembles a handful of volunteer pollwatchers, ostensibly to guard against voter fraud, which in his view is necessarily committed by the other side. (This documentary is bipartisan and neutral -- like the Australian pollwatcher often portrayed as silently witnessing the occasional partisan exchange from the sidelines, allowing viewers to draw their own conclusions -- however, populists and Democrats will perceive that the only ones seen to commit electoral faux pas are the Republicans, who demonize the other side and commit the very interference tactics they hope to find and oppose, all the while chummily denying they are doing so: "It's legal.") We see an effective voter-rights movement that entitles ex-felons who can vote after having paid their debt to society; we see a marginally effective get-out-the-vote effort on an Indian reservation; and we see a small southern town elect its first black sheriff in 120 years (an underdog candidate who, through voter activism, won by a margin of 100 votes, less 15 before the recount and plus 15 after). Ironically, we see one cavernous polling location in a Republican enclave that has many voting machines and less than a handful in use while we see several chaotic polling locations overrun with blacks and minorities waiting 2-3 hours to vote (and one instance of white officers closing the polls 5 minutes early as blacks were running from the bus stop for the doors). Election Day is a sobering but mostly inspiring documentary for populists; perhaps less so for those who prefer oligarchy. Its message is that every vote, from every person of every color and every walk of life, can and should count and be counted. This is America and democracy at work. (P.S. I watched this disc the morning of the day I early voted.) Enjoy! 4 stars.