It’s Election Day! Where To Vote? Find Out Here!

By on November 6, 2012 8:39 am in Brooklyn Heights, Government

Polls are open today, Tuesday, November 6, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. To find your polling site, go to the City of New York Board of Elections website and plug in your address here at the top right of the homepage. It works! The webbie also offers iPhone and Android phone apps, if need be.

Polling at St. Ann’s & The Holy Trinity on Montague Street as of 9:30 this morning was chaotic, with the primary line 100+ deep. There are separate lines for Districts 13, 14 and 15. It’s helpful to know your District before you go. Prepare for a long haul, folks… Share info and war stories about other Heights polling sites below. (CT)

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  • Miss Montague

    How are the lines at saint Ann’s church?

  • Lola Wright

    The lines were horrendous. Waited on one line for district 15 for over 45 minutes and it did not move because the poll worker could not seem to read the names in the book and fill out the cards. The supervisor’s response to the complaints was to ask us to give her a minute. She did nothing. Eventually the problem was resolved after the police got involved but by then, the line was out the door and down the block.

  • http://chucktaylorblog.blogspot.com/ Chuck Taylor

    indeed, lola is correct… at st. ann’s there are lines for each of 3 districts… the polling “helpers” were actually somewhat hostile — and contributing to the chaos there. prepare for a long haul…

  • Mr. Crusty

    Voted at St. Ann’s. what an embarrassment. I thought I was in a 3rd world country. There has got to be a better way. Tell me again why we can’t vote electronically through the Internet or at ATM type machine? We do all kinds of sensitive financial transactions online but we can’t cast our vote? How many people don’t vote because of the long lines and inconvenience? If we had a better system we would have 90% participation, and that would be good for Democracy. Ok done venting. Go out and vote!

  • Courtney

    I voted at Congregation Mt. Sinai, which contains districts 10, 11, and 12. At least early this morning, there was a line out the door, but it was only to verify your address and district. If you know your district, you can skip that line and move directly to the individual district lines (also long in some cases). I waited 35 minutes at 6:45am.

  • HenryLoL

    Voted at 101 Clark at about 7:45. Waited for 15 minutes on line – not bad at all. Staff had no idea what was going on…. But it is always like that — mass confusion.

  • Michael

    I voted at St. Ann’s this morning. I’m in District 15 and the lines were very long, the process took over an hour. The turnout was very heavy, and the poll workers seemed out-manned. I found them to be curteous and helpful, especially considering the crowds and the cold. They have my appreciation.

    It is easier if you know your district ahead of time.

  • Florence Davis

    Saint Ann’s was slow this morning around 8:20 but then started to move. I thought the poll workers were very helpful and polite, especially considering the crowds–I think maybe four or five separate EDs are voting there today. The scanners were working and were not backed up. Everyone on line was in an accepting mood, which helped.

  • jerm

    PS 261 in Cobble Hill has a 3 hour wait right now. What if I jumped in one of the lines to get an affidavit ballot in BK heights? It sounds like the Sandy declaration allows for it.

  • AmyinBH

    The polling places in BH need to be larger to accomodate the crowd. St. Ann’s was a joke. Bring back the old time voting booths. We never had such conditions with the old voting booths.

  • amanda

    PS 8 was relatively uncrowded at 7:30AM. I’m in DUMBO so I’m in District 5, but I noticed lines for District 7 (must be North Heights?) were quite long already. Process seemed orderly enough though the particularly poll worker at my station seemed a bit slow finding my name in the book. Never understood why they don’t break up the names by letter in larger districts, i.e. A-L gets one book/worker, M-Z gets another.

  • Bloomy

    I voted two weeks ago by absentee ballot. Sure beats waiting in line for 45 minutes. And I got to sit in front of my computer to look up who the heck the judges were. I don’t understand why more people don’t use the absentee option.

  • bagel boy

    PS 8 this morning was a total fiasco. a prime example of hapless government hacks screwing up what a bunch of 3rd graders could do. Put up a couple signs and verify that a name is in a book and hand you a ballot !!! How on earth could they mess up something so simple. No one knew where to go. The signs were tacked up too low for people to see them so people were just asking each other what District the line was for. The District 7 line was well over an hour with 3 people working a line of hundreds but other Districts had no one in line but unbelievebaly the same 3 hacks just sitting there at the table twidling thier thumbs. They need to find a bigger place next year and fire all those idiots that work there.

  • AmyinBH

    Did anyone get an “I voted” sticker?

  • A Neighbor

    By 10:30, the lines at St. Ann’s were over an hour. When you get inside you see what the problem is. When I was there, if there are 20 voting stations, never more than 5 were in use at one time. The delay was at the tables for each district. All they did was check your ID, find your name, ask you to sign, and hand you a paper ballot. Why this took so long is a mystery. The workers were courteous but chatted with each other, listened to conversations they weren’t involved in, generally moved like molasses in cold weather.

    The process at SA was like what I imagine happens in a third world country. No machines this time, no signage for guidance on where to go, people having to cut through lines to get to the voting stations, voters asked to hold up signs indicating the district line they were in…

    The Board of Elections continues to be one of the most incompetent agencies in the city. The pols appoint the people who run it but nobody is held accountable.

  • HenryLoL
  • Joan

    Voted at around 1:30 at PS 8. No lines. Poll workers very welcoming.

  • Hicks-ter
  • JL

    101 Clark (Cadman Towers) was fine if you were in Precinct 9 (or I think 112). Precinct 8 was an awful line. The people working the desk from that Precinct had no idea what they were doing.

    That was around 9 AM this morning, hopefully it has improved.

    Also, too small a location, as well!

  • http://chucktaylorblog.blogspot.com/ Chuck Taylor

    by the time i went back to vote at st. ann’s around 12:30 this afternoon, lines remained long, but they moved fairly quickly, thank god. whole process took about 45 minutes. i’m in district 13… district 15 line was hopelessly LONG.

    inside the church, the “system” felt like it came from the 1940s… check in, receive a paper ballot in a manilla folder, snake through the room & the center of the lines to the back, where you mark the ballot in a “private voting booth,” then to a scanner… 2 of the 3 scanners were down when i was there. this is progress?

    NO “i voted” stickers! the gentleman at the exit mused with me, “you don’t get a lollipop either.”

    phew, i’m glad that’s over for another 4 years…

  • AmyinBH

    It would have been nice to get a sticker after waiting almost 1 and a half hours to vote. Timed stamped with start and end time would have made it even better. heeheehee.

  • ColumbiaHeightster

    Any update on St. Ann’s as the day has progressed? I’ll be with the voting-after-work crowd.

  • Grace Court

    I went to St. Ann’s this morning waited in line for 45 minutes and barely moved, so I gave up and went to work. I went back at 2:40, thinking that things would be better. It’s is a bit chaotic, but managable unless you need to vote in District 15 and your last name starts with a letter between m and z. The one person checking names for that line…should be doing something/anything else. I waited an hour and 15 minutes to get my ballot. It then took two minutes to fill it out and scan it. All the other lines were moving really quickly and people seemed to be in and out. Good luck.

  • T.K. Small

    I voted at Congregation Mt. Sinai. Altogether, it probably took about 30 minutes, but that is only because my privacy was completely compromised. Here is what occurred:

    Once again, the NYC Board of Elections staff has left me furious after attempting to vote. After all this time, training and money, why are they still so incompetent?! The BOE person at the first table, after looking at my name, promptly started to speak to the person behind me as if that was my keeper, when in fact it was just some other person from my neighborhood. Do I really need to scream “SPEAK TO ME DIRECTLY!”? Apparently, I do…

    At the second table, the first worker was obviously intelligent and competent, and she did a good job. However, the next person assisting me started by trying to push my wheelchair. Once again, I found myself having to scream “DON’T TOUCH MY WHEELCHAIR!”. If I had asked for assistance, this would make sense. But I hadn’t and I didn’t. I can appreciate being pushy, but this was too much. Finally, when I got to the Ballot Marking Device (BMD), there was someone ahead of me and I patiently waited my turn. I explained to the person that tried to push my wheelchair, “I am an attorney, you don’t need to speak to me like an idiot”. He kept watching the person using the BMD and I told him he was compromising this person’s privacy.

    As the above-described situation was unfolding, I was also watching for the competence level of the person assisting with the BMD. Quickly, I realized that I needed to manage my expectations and figure out a backup plan. While the other person was finishing with marking their ballot, I rolled over to the police officer and explained my situation. Basically, I did not have 3-4 hours to dedicate to holding the system accountable and exercising my franchise. Consequently, I asked the police officer to assist me if the BOE staff person couldn’t make the BMD operational. In very apologetic, but unacceptable terms, the BOE staffer explained that she didn’t really know how to use the sip and puff equipment, but would try. Firmly I explained to her, “If you don’t really know what you’re doing, please don’t waste my time. I will get the police officer to assist me.”. Obviously, this was not a private or independent voting experience.

    On almost every account, the NYCBOE failed today. I just can’t understand this. I know that these workers were trained, because I participated in that training in the past. Very exasperating!

  • ABC

    I think the process seems okay BUT they need to get poll workers who know how to look up names in alphabetical order.

    One worker was trying to guide people into lines but would ask your last name – SMITH? Is that A-K or L-Z? I saw her do it 100 times at least. Then you get up front an hour later and looking up SMITH is like hunting keys on a typewriter.

    They pay $300 for poll workers. They should be able to find enough people to man those books.

  • Willowtowncop

    I worked at a poll in Manhattan today. It’s usually a horrible day given the competence of the poll workers but I thought it would be a welcome relief from spending 18 hours in the Rockaways in the cold. Wrong! I would have preferred a disaster area. They couldn’t figure out what numbers to write on the cards, I had to threaten to call the board of elections to get them to take down a sample ballot that one of them had filled out with his own personal choices and taped on the wall. There were no Chinese interpreters in Chinatown, etc. I suspect the affidavit system is going to be a problem as well. There’s nothing at all stopping people from going in 12 polling places and voting with these ballots in 12 different names.

  • Jorale-man

    Interesting, @Willowtowncop.

    I found the workers at Borough Hall were hard-working and trying to make the best of a tough situation – a cramped room with too many intersecting, redundant lines. What they really need is a larger space where lines can stretch out and people can get clear directions.

  • carol

    The number of people who vote at Borough Hall far exceeds the capacity of the space. The set up was a mess with various lines interfering with other lines. How about having a few computer terminals into which you enter your address and its spits our your ED or even simpler – maps showing the boundaries of the EDs?

    In the face of the irrefutable evidence that the national election is in the hands of voters from five to six states (none is New York), why do we vote at all?

  • http://www.tksmall.com T.K. Small

    By the way, the police officer that assisted me was very helpful.

  • Willowtowncop

    I actually think its strange that cops are stationed at the polls. I lived in California before I came here and had never seen anything like it – it seems like an argument could be made that it might scare people who owe tickets, etc. out of voting.

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