A Historic Election 11.4.08 - One Voter’s Views & Images

As of this writing, the polls in New York have just closed and handed Barack Obama 31 Electoral College votes.   

When I last checked before heading home, the lines still snaked around the gymnasium where I had voted earlier this morning.  

Earlier this morning, I set out to vote and decided to bring a small camera along to snap some images around my polling place and other polling sites.   After all, I was voting in a district that routinely handled previous presidential and local elections quite smoothly. Further, the district’s population is a cross-section of working, professional, media types, and local politicians.  What could possibly go wrong and there shouldn’t be any line.

En route, I saw some of my neighbors who voted at 6 AM warned me that they had waited for 2-1/2 hours as they passed me on their way home. 

By the time I entered a large gymnasium, there were people in different queues as poll workers were directing a congested human traffic.   I found my district queue with sullen looking people snaking around the gym.  I asked some friendly looking voters on another queue why their line was shorter and mine was much longer?  They smiled a tad too happy and told me that my district’s voting machine broke down sometime before 8 AM and my district had only one book to verify the voters’ credentials.  Their district had alphabetized their book and separated the voters according to last names, from A to L and M to Z.   Apparently, the folks in queue overheard my conversation became instantly turned angry and started to demand poll workers about this snafu and who was in charge?    

I noticed a local politician and asked him about the Board of Election bringing in an extra machine.  His reply was that he had been trying to fix this problem since 7:20 AM. He didn’t think the Board of Election would bring another machine.  The voters’ turnout was unprecedented all around the city and throughout the state of New York. 

While I was standing in line, people told me that CNN had even reported about the lines and snafus in our district.  

Finally, 2-3/4 hours later, I was delighted to have pulled the lever and voted for Barack Obama and local legislators.  

I’ve captured some images (with permission) from my voting experience.