Barrack the Vote!

I vote in every election. Always have, always will. So I'm accustomed to what the polling place is like on the day. A few years back, I was amazed at having to wait 10 minutes on a 6-person line.

Today, I got there at 7, and waited for a solid hour. The polling place in the slope that I went to was as crowded as a 4 train at rush hour. People brought their kids. (Which I'm usually for. It's great to show junior the electoral process. HOWEVER, I'd prefer it if they A) waited for the pre-work rush to be over and B) left the aircraft-carrier sized strollers at home or at the very least, outside the scrum. But when you live in Park Slope, I suppose this is all par for the course.)

I vaguely remember being taken by my mom or dad into the booth during the 1984 election. I vaguely remember it being crowded then. But even that is no comparison to the crowd I saw this morning. This is akin to trying to get on the subway after a Yankee game.

And the best part? No one was deterred by the line. Everybody stood, everybody waited, and everybody voted. When I finally got to the front of the line? I was #103. And this was before 9 am!

No stickers, though. They never seem to have stickers. Hopefully Ben & Jerry will hook me up anyway.

Barrack the Vote!

I vote in every election. Always have, always will. So I'm accustomed to what the polling place is like on the day. A few years back, I was amazed at having to wait 10 minutes on a 6-person line.

Today, I got there at 7, and waited for a solid hour. The polling place in the slope that I went to was as crowded as a 4 train at rush hour. People brought their kids. (Which I'm usually for. It's great to show junior the electoral process. HOWEVER, I'd prefer it if they A) waited for the pre-work rush to be over and B) left the aircraft-carrier sized strollers at home or at the very least, outside the scrum. But when you live in Park Slope, I suppose this is all par for the course.)

I vaguely remember being taken by my mom or dad into the booth during the 1984 election. I vaguely remember it being crowded then. But even that is no comparison to the crowd I saw this morning. This is akin to trying to get on the subway after a Yankee game.

And the best part? No one was deterred by the line. Everybody stood, everybody waited, and everybody voted. When I finally got to the front of the line? I was #103. And this was before 9 am!

No stickers, though. They never seem to have stickers. Hopefully Ben & Jerry will hook me up anyway.

Further adventures in voting.

I forgot to add an anecdote that happened as Puck, quasisonic and I prepared to cast our ballots.

The women running my district (17), were asking everyone for ID. Because the line had been so long and so slow-moving, Puck had been reading everything in his line of sight - including the Poll worker guide stating specifically that IDs were only required so long as there was a notation next to that person's name stating if that particular person needed to show ID.

Puck, when asked for ID, asked if there was a notation next to his name that specifically called for it. When they said no, he balked, and told them that ID was not required. They pushed him for it, saying that ID made things "easier" and to please just hand over his ID. He said he would, but that he would complain.

Then he asked me for a pen, and wrote down the names of the poll workers who had demanded ID.

Later on, I got this email from him:

It was WAY EASY to get to talk to someone in the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ about my problem. They took down all the relevant information, were able to locate the right person to talk to in our local area, and this problem is going to be handled right away.

So, if any of these poll workers are not behaving as they should? I'm guessing that the DOJ is the place to call. And good for him for not treating something like this with a shrug of the shoulders and/or a "whatever," and for actually following through on his threat to call.

I wonder if they're still asking for ID over there. No way to know tonight - I'm going to be watching the returns and drinking heavily in Manhattan, at least for part of the time.

Further adventures in voting.

I forgot to add an anecdote that happened as Puck, quasisonic and I prepared to cast our ballots.

The women running my district (17), were asking everyone for ID. Because the line had been so long and so slow-moving, Puck had been reading everything in his line of sight - including the Poll worker guide stating specifically that IDs were only required so long as there was a notation next to that person's name stating if that particular person needed to show ID.

Puck, when asked for ID, asked if there was a notation next to his name that specifically called for it. When they said no, he balked, and told them that ID was not required. They pushed him for it, saying that ID made things "easier" and to please just hand over his ID. He said he would, but that he would complain.

Then he asked me for a pen, and wrote down the names of the poll workers who had demanded ID.

Later on, I got this email from him:

It was WAY EASY to get to talk to someone in the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ about my problem. They took down all the relevant information, were able to locate the right person to talk to in our local area, and this problem is going to be handled right away.

So, if any of these poll workers are not behaving as they should? I'm guessing that the DOJ is the place to call. And good for him for not treating something like this with a shrug of the shoulders and/or a "whatever," and for actually following through on his threat to call.

I wonder if they're still asking for ID over there. No way to know tonight - I'm going to be watching the returns and drinking heavily in Manhattan, at least for part of the time.