Presidential Election 2012 - Voting in Brooklyn, NYC

Brooklyn voters wait in line at the polls

I arrived at P.S. 6, on Snyder Avenue in Brooklyn, at about 2pm on November 6, 2012. The above photo is what I was met with. The line was about 2 blocks long. Thankfully it was moving swiftly. But the closer I got to the front of the line, the less we moved. I heard from a few people who made their way past us after voting that things were not orderly on the inside. Certain district tables were completely empty while others were backed up.

Voters wait at poll site PS 6, Brooklyn, NY, Election day 2012

Extra NYPD showed up while I waited on line. Other people took one look at the amount of people waiting in line and decided it wasn't worth it. Some drivers honked and shouted, "Obama!" as they drove by.

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Once I got inside, it was chaos. Lines weren't moving, fights nearly broke out, too many voters didn't know where to go or were directed to the wrong table (Yours Truly included) and frankly, many of the poll workers were not equipped, efficient, young enough for the job. We were informed by one of the poll workers that many younger, quicker-minded workers were not called in because the jobs had to be given to senior citizens. She said she was aware many of her coworkers for the day should not be "in charge" of a presidential election. We were told that we could file complaints with New York Board of Elections.


Besides all that, I've never had this long a wait to cast my vote during an election -- local, state or national. This was insane. At most it would take me 20 minutes. In 2008, I was at a different polling site after I'd moved and had to fill out an affidavit. That didn't take this long. During the 2004 presidential, 2005 mayoral election and 2006 gubernatorial election, I decided to go back to my old neighborhood, in The Bronx, to vote. I did. That took less time than voting today.


4 hours later, when I left, the sun had already set. The line was even longer than when I got on it. I started recording once I was outside the gates of the school all the way to the end (it's a little dark, sorry). Every vote counts. Let's hope their votes get counted.

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