'Images of Democracy' Photo Contest

Official Rules

Who can enter?
Anyone 13 years and older can enter the contest.

Employees, relatives of employees, and contractors of the North Carolina Center for Voter Education and the Contest Sponsors are not allowed to enter the contest.

The Basics of the Contest
Eligible individuals may enter up to three photos in the contest.
 
The contest is open to any and all photos created and owned by contestants that relate to government, politics, elections, voting, campaigns, civic participation or North Carolina history.  Some examples of photos that could be submitted include: the North Carolina capitol or other government building, a political rally, a candidate, people voting or waiting to vote, the legislature or an event with an elected official.  Photos are not required to be taken in North Carolina.

To enter the “Images of Democracy” contest you must submit photo entries via our Facebook page.  To submit a photo on our Facebook page, simply upload the photo you wish to enter in the contest and in the caption include the title of the photo.  Our Facebook page can be found at facebook.com/NCVoterEd.  Please also submit a high-resolution photo via email to .  When emailing please include the photographer’s name and title of the photo in the file name.

The Entry Deadline
Submissions for the 2011 “Images of Democracy” contest will be accepted between September 27, 2011 and 11:59:59 p.m. on January 16, 2012.  Winners will be announced in or about January 2012.

Contest Awards
From all the qualified photos we will select a First, Second, and Third Place winner.  In addition, the contest will also feature a category called the “People’s Vote Award,” which will allow the public to vote online for a favorite photo in this category.  The photo that receives the highest number of votes will be the winner of the “People’s Vote Award.”  The Center will post up to five photos online for voting in January 2012.

First Place winner
The first place winner will receive $100, have his or her photo featured on our websites and publications and receive two complimentary tickets to our annual Spectrum of Democracy Awards dinner in February 2012.  The first place winner will also have his or her photo participate in a silent auction at the Spectrum of Democracy Awards with the proceeds to benefit the North Carolina Center for Voter Education’s internship program.

Second Place Winner
The second place winner will receive $50, have his or her photo featured on our websites and publications and be recognized at the Spectrum of Democracy Awards.  The second place winner will also have his or her photo participate in a silent auction at the Spectrum of Democracy Awards with the proceeds to benefit the North Carolina Center for Voter Education’s internship program.

Third Place Winner
The third place winner will receive $25, have his or her photo featured on the N.C. Center for Voter Education websites and publications and be recognized at the Spectrum of Democracy Awards.  The third place winner will also have his or her photo participate in a silent auction at the Spectrum of Democracy Awards with the proceeds to benefit the North Carolina Center for Voter Education’s internship program.

“People’s Vote Award” Winner
The public will choose one winning photo from a collection of up to five photo finalists.  The “People’s Vote Award” winner will receive $25, be recognized at the Spectrum of Democracy Awards and have his or her photo featured on our websites and various publications.

Judging
Judging will be done by a select group of N.C. Center for Voter Education employees and other members in our community selected by the N.C. Center for Voter Education. Additionally, the public will be able to vote in the “People’s Vote Award” to select a winner from up to five photo finalists. Winners will be notified by email.

The N.C. Center for Voter Education shall determine winner eligibility in its sole and absolute discretion. All decisions made by the judges are final.

Entering photos in the contest
For photos to be considered for the 2011 “Images of Democracy” contest they will need to be posted to our N.C. Center for Voter Education Facebook page and a digital copy sent via email to .  File names for submitted photos should include the photographer’s name and title for the photo.

Image quality of all submitted photos is an important consideration. When submitting please try to use the highest quality photo that you can. The N.C. Center for Voter Education reserves the right to exclude photo submissions that may fall below certain basic minimum quality levels.

Photo finalists must provide a real name and mailing address to us when requested, or risk having their photo submissions disqualified.  When emailing a photo for submission please include the photographer’s name, a title for the photo and the location where the photo was taken in the body of the email.

Individuals submitting photos represent and warrant that you possess the full rights to your submitted photos, including any required releases pertaining to the submitted photos.  Photos including material of questionable ownership may be excluded.

Individuals submitting photos into the contest retain full rights to their photos, including ownership, but through the act of participation (entering a photo into our contest) automatically grant to the North Carolina Center for Voter Education a non-exclusive, worldwide, irrevocable, royalty-free license to reproduce, distribute, and display the submitted photos which might include, by example, methods listed below:

• The right to publish the photo in any Center publications
• The right to publish the photo in any Center press release (online and offline)
• The right to publish the photo on our websites (www.ncvotered.com, www.voterradio.com, www.thevoterupdate.com, etc.)
• The right to use the photo’s title, your name, city, state, and country of residence in our publications.
• The right to publish the photo within any sponsors’ website, TV, and print properties
• If selected as a winner, the right to promote, offer, or auction prints of the photo with monetary proceeds from the sale of the photo to benefit the North Carolina Center for Voter Education
• Any contest photo published will be presented with the photographer’s name – example: “Photo by Andrew Jackson”

We reserve sole rights to eliminate and/or delete photographic submissions to our Facebook page or content that we deem to be objectionable or of dubious provenance.  No prior warning or notification will be required of the N.C. Center for Voter Education.

Examples of photos that we would remove without warning:

• Photos that showcase dubious taste or themes
• Photos involving racial insensitivities
• Photos involving salacious subjects and presentations
  

The N.C. Center for Voter Education will reserve the rights to change or modify all text associated with a photo entered into the contest.  This would include titles of the photo and/or accompanying descriptions.

Winning photos (1st, 2nd, 3rd places, “People’s Vote Award”) will not be able to be re-entered into future contests.

Photos need not have been taken in the year in which they are being submitted.

North Carolina Center for Voter Education Rights and Indemnifications
By entering the contest the participants agree to indemnify and hold harmless the North Carolina Center for Voter Education, its affiliates, employees and officers from any issues, losses or actions emanating from or in relation to the North Carolina Center for Voter Education “Images of Democracy” photo contest.  This would include any losses or issues related to third party claims of copyright infringement or violations of personal privacy.

The North Carolina Center for Voter Education “Images of Democracy” photo contest is void where prohibited by law.

Each participant in the photo contest is responsible for ensuring that they possess the full rights to the photos that they are submitting.

Each participant is responsible for accurately titling and describing their photos.

The North Carolina Center for Voter Education at its sole discretion reserved the right to terminate, suspend, or modify the photo contest.