--- description: Michael Mergen’s photographs examine American government, highlighting the spaces where the ideals of our political system meet the mundane realities of participatory democracy title: The Halls of Democracy: Places of Civic Responsibility image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13bdd2d6c9a78775/6987a0d70b72e3810d6dfd24/mergen_vote_06.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Halls of Democracy: Places of Civic Responsibility by [Ariana McLaughlin](/author/ariana-mclaughlin/) ## Ariana McLaughlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 5, 2012 7:26 PM CUT  Precinct 28080, Providence, R.I., 2010 Precinct 28080, Providence, R.I., 2010Michael Mergen by [Ariana McLaughlin](/author/ariana-mclaughlin/) ## Ariana McLaughlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 5, 2012 7:26 PM CUT American citizens—and those applying for the title—learn early that they have two primary civic responsibilities: voting and jury duty. As voting booths are installed in our common areas across the nation—in schools, gyms, firehouses, grocery stores and municipal buildings—we realize the true weight of our duties as citizens. Michael Mergen, an assistant professor of photography at Longwood University in Farmville, Va., became particularly interested in voters—and voting locations—while working as a photojournalist during the 2004 presidential election. When he walked into a barbershop-turned-polling center in west Philadelphia, Mergen thought to himself, ‘This has to be preserved.’ In the years since, Mergen has photographed countless voting booths, jury rooms and naturalization facilities in his quest to document what he considers essential parts of being an American. After combing through thousands of polling sites on Excel spreadsheets, the photographer then chose stations located in private homes or unusual businesses; his journeys have taken him to pizza parlors, living rooms, garages, funeral homes and other eccentric spots scattered across Philadelphia. His eight years of work have yielded three revealing yet non-partisan series aptly titled, _Vote, Deliberate_ and _Naturalization_, which collectively seek to underscore the importance of citizen-driven governance. “There are few instances in our lives where as an American you can say, ‘I was a citizen today,’” Mergen says. “We are citizens everyday going about our business, but it’s rare when that becomes an actual tangible event. It’s kind of amazing that casting a vote at Bud’s Tire in Murfreesboro, Tenn. actually \[contributes to\] President Obama or Governor Romney winning.” [_Michael Mergen_](http://mimages.com/ "undefined") _is a Virginia-based photographer._  Precinct 28080, Providence, R.I., 2010 Michael Mergen  Early Voting #16, Reno, Nev., 2010 Michael Mergen  District 2, Carthage, Tenn., 2010 Michael Mergen  Ward 64, Precinct 11, Philadelphia, Pa., 2008 Michael Mergen  District 4-2, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 2010 Michael Mergen  Early Voting #8, Las Vegas, Nev., 2010 Michael Mergen  Precinct 9, Shelby Township, Mich., 2010 Michael Mergen  Early Voting #4, Las Vegas, Nev., 2010 Michael Mergen  Ceremony Room, #3, New York, N.Y., 2011 Michael Mergen  Ceremony Room, #2, New York, N.Y., 2011 Michael Mergen  Ceremony Room, #1, Johnston, R.I., 2011 Michael Mergen  Ceremony Room, #3, Johnston, R.I., 2011 Michael Mergen  Ceremony Room, #3, Atlanta, Ga., 2011 Michael Mergen  Division 20 Jury Room, St. Louis, Mo., 2010 Michael Mergen  Jury Room 501, Tulsa, Okla., 2010 Michael Mergen  Division 12 Jury Room, St. Louis, Mo., 2010 Michael Mergen  Jury Room 11, #2, Providence, R.I., 2010 Michael Mergen  Divisions II and III Jury Room, Claremore, Okla., 2010 Michael Mergen  Jury Room 303, Claremore, Okla., 2010 Michael Mergen  Jury Room 610, #2, Detroit, Mich., 2010 Michael Mergen  Jury Room 16, Providence, R.I., 2010 Michael Mergen  Jury Room 610, #3, Detroit, Mich., 2010 Michael Mergen ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/56624/michael-mergen-american-democracy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/56624/michael-mergen-american-democracy/"},"headline":"The Halls of Democracy: Places of Civic Responsibility","datePublished":"2012-11-05T19:26:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:41:57.646Z","description":"Michael Mergen’s photographs examine American government, highlighting the spaces where the ideals of our political system meet the mundane realities of participatory democracy","url":"https://time.com/56624/michael-mergen-american-democracy/","keywords":["LightBox","photography","America","democracy","presidential election","election 2012","photo essay"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13bdd2d6c9a78775/6987a0d70b72e3810d6dfd24/mergen_vote_06.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ariana McLaughlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ariana-mclaughlin/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13bdd2d6c9a78775/6987a0d70b72e3810d6dfd24/mergen_vote_06.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Vote","caption":"Precinct 28080, Providence, R.I., 2010","creditText":"Michael Mergen","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/56624/michael-mergen-american-democracy/","name":"The Halls of Democracy: Places of Civic Responsibility"}}]}] ```