Vote Here: Collective Experience in American Politics
Walking
along “Main Street” and visiting polling sites during state primaries and caucuses I photographed to examine voting as a collective experience. Over the
course of the project I traveled to 12 state primary and caucus
events. In each state, I chose a city to photograph on the main street and a corresponding polling place to photograph in during the vote. This project includes states from almost every geographic region of the country. The photographs from the earliest caucus in
Decorah, Iowa, for instance, show very little activity on Water Street
(the main roadway through town) although voter turnout and enthusiasm was very high. Perhaps this is a tribute to the pride many Iowans take in kicking off
the election season. Throughout the primary season I was welcomed into each polling place and could experience the passion of our country through an accumulation of individual experiences.
The
final outcome of the 2008 presidential campaign is uncertain. Perhaps this project will be nothing more than a historical document of a primary season and the representation of passionate individuals across the country. In any case, I embarked on this project to
capture images that expressed the wide range of our collective
experience and portray an American public that can choose to participate in or ignore this process, a process that ultimately shapes the conscience of our society.
Aaron Bommarito
aaronbommarito@hotmail.com
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