post election mess

This morning I spent three hours checking through absentee and affidavit ballots in a District 1 NYC Council election that was too close to call - 200 votes separating the top two candidates, precipitating a closer look at election results. A bunch of wolunteers waded through stacks of papers that the Board of Elections had already vetted, double checking to make sure nothing was missed.

My takeaways:

ALWAYS write your name clearly on forms. Legibility matters.

Yes, use your middle initial.

Know what party you're registered for. If it's a Democrat primary, you have to be a registered Democrat to vote. You'd think that Republics, and Independents, and Green Party, and Working Families, and undeclared voters would know better. But many didn't and submitted ballots in the Democratic primary anyway. Straight to the trash can.

If you don't live in NYC, you can't vote in a NYC primary. That means people who live in Connecticut. What were you thinking?

Registered voters are assigned polling places. You can't pop in to any voting place and vote there because it's more convenient or you happen to be walking by.

The behind the scenes election system is crazy complicated. Thumb print recognition would be a great addition.

FAR TOO PEOPLE VOTED. Less than 15% of registered Democrats showed up on Tuesday. And that is infuriating and heartbreaking. One would hope, after the last election, people would have learned a lesson and would have been showing up in droves.

Nope.

Facebook rants and coffee shop conversation don't cut it. People need to show up and vote to make change happen.

This isn't a spectator sport anymore.