Public service or federal crime?

That's for the state Attorney General's office to decide now, after more than 10 minutes of video footage released by conservative activist James O'Keefe has stirred controversy – and not necessarily the kind O'Keefe intended. The footage includes shots taken at several New Hampshire polling sites, including some in Nashua, on Jan. 10 during which phony voters went undercover to ask for ballots for recently deceased people in those wards.

In one instance a poll worker in a Manchester ward realized the undercover imposter was not who he said he was because she knew the dead person in question. That incident was reported in the Boston Herald. Nashua City Clerk Paul Bergeron is outraged, and noted that in addition to the legal ramifications, what these filmmakers did in that instance is morally and ethically wrong.

"Her husband just died 10 days ago," said Bergeron, referring to an interview in today's Boston Herald with Rachel Groux of Manchester, widow of Roger Groux, who died December 31. "She's appalled that his name is being used in this manner, and I sympathize. If there is any civil satisfaction these families can get, I hope they proceed and file suit against the filmmakers," Bergeron said.

O'Keefe, founder of Project Veritas, told the Herald in their original story that he did it to expose New Hampshire's lax system of checks and balances.

"It shows the integrity of the elections process is severely compromised," O'Keefe said.

Reaction from New Hampshire election officials was quite different, based in part on the state's wiretapping and eavesdropping statutes, which among other things, specify that it is illegal to record an election official without permission. Bergeron said this morning he believes the filmmakers may have committed a federal crime, as well, if they crossed state lines to record the undercover video, and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.