Election Day

Working with a team of producers across the country, filmmaker Katy Chevigny provides a panoramic view of the 2004 presidential election, covering big cities and small towns, and people from all walks of life. Among them are Jim Fuchs, who organizes Republicans to monitor polls in Chicago; Rashida Tlaib, who drives other Arab-Americans to polling stations in Dearborn, MI; Jason Drapeaux, who reaches out to Native American voters in Pine Ridge, SD; and Australian Shanta Martin, who works as an election observer in St. Louis, MO, for Fair Election International, a nongovernmental organization. Other participants include campaign managers and state legislators, as well as nonvoters convinced their ballots won't make a difference. Everyone faces challenges of some kind: Fuchs encounters campaigning irregularities, Drapeaux travels long distances between reservations, and Martin notices short lines in middle-income neighborhoods and distressingly long ones in low-income areas (along the way, Martin meets a poll worker who describes voting as a privilege, whereas Martin sees it as a right). As the day unfolds, Chevigny also introduces new voters, such as 18-year-old Franny Fisher and ex-felon Leon Batts. As Batts tells an associate, “It's like I'm Joe Citizen now. I got a voice and I count.” Batts is lucky he lives in New York, since some states, such as Florida, make it difficult for ex-felons to register (the film also highlights other state to state discrepancies). Originally airing on PBS' POV series, DVD extras include additional scenes and an interview with Chevigny. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)