The phone went silent.

I knew better than to go on. I wished her a good day and made my way toward the door. Good thing is - I already know where the polling place is. I made my way through the street and then realized that the community center a block from me had been turned into a polling place. How odd, yet convenient for me, I thought. As I proceeded into the spot I was greeted by an officer – you can always find at least one when there is a vote going on.

I had arrived. The election workers were seated at their respective tables as I scanned the room for a sign as to which table I should approach. A stout middle-aged woman of my complexion, with a warm smile, then greeted me. “What’s your name, young man?” she asked. As I gave her my name, my eyes scanned the pages just in case she missed it. “Your name isn’t here. Try the other table.”

“How you doing, brother? Give me a moment. I’ll be right with you.”
“Who wants to work the door? Someone needs to so people know where they are going when they get here.”

All I could think was you should have had that person there when you opened. This way I wouldn’t be going from table to table. But they only do this activity every now and then. It isn’t someone’s full time job to work the election poll.

“OK”
“Name?” a woman growled at me. After giving her my name, I noticed that my name wasn’t listed, again. I couldn’t believe it. Could it be that I couldn’t vote? Was I registered as independent and couldn’t vote? And then, that same gentleman that greeted me asked, “Are you sure your in the right spot?” Ding! Ding! Ding! … “I usually vote at the school down the street but I thought they switched places.”
“No. They’re open.”
“OK, thanks. Have a great day ya’ll.”

As I made my way to the door, the group at the table shouted,
 “You’re going to vote right?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Good, my brother. You going right now?”
“Of course, now is the time.”

After wasting time going to the wrong spot, I proceeded to hit the correct polling place, the place I should have gone to in the first place. A total of three cops and an ambulance are on the scene. Wasn’t quite sure what to expect, I guess. Perhaps, people were overly excited about voting today.

As I walked into the vestibule of the school, I noticed two police officers and the paramedics circled around an older woman who appeared to have fallen. “Go back up the stairs and inside the building now,” one of the officers said to an elderly man who appeared to be impaired by intoxication. As I watched this scene, I could only imagine how miserable a bedside manner this cop had. I hope to never run into her on the streets of NYC.

So finally, I make it into the cafeteria of the school. You can tell this is small time compared to the November elections. Half the cafeteria has children in it; normally the election brigade occupies the whole room.

Unlike the first place I went to, keep in mind, it was in error, these folks have a reception area so they can tell which of the six tables is the right one. “Name?” (Where is the warm greeting?)… She then points to my designated section.

I’ve made it. I can now vote. As the woman searched for my name in her Russian accent she says, “I’m so glad you’re here. You know today is very important.” Yes, I realize that. It is important for all of us. “Are you democrat or republican?” Democrat, I say. Good good. We haven’t had any republicans come here yet. I doubt they live in this area I thought. “Perhaps, they’ll be here later. You know republicans get up early for work so they should be here before the polls close. (This isn’t fact, I was just making conversation). She nodded in agreement.

When I walked into the booth, I realized that there was more than one choice to be made. Yes, Hillary and Obama were on the ballet but so are the delegates - names that I did not recognize. As I looked through the names, I see instructions telling me to pick five out of the six people listed.

Hmmmm… How do I make a choice based on a bunch of names and an M or F sitting next to them? OK. Let me think. I’ll pick a minimum of two women. Just because you can’t have too many men in charge. OK… I see a name that looks something like a black person’s name. That is one for the team. Now, what do we have on the ballot…? OK. Close your eyes and just pick another.

I pulled the lever and went about my business. Four out of six delegates isn’t bad. Especially since, I didn’t know who any of them were.

After today, I realized I will not go the polls without a complete education and understanding of what else will be on the ballot. Who knew I would have other choices? Come November, I’m sure there will be some bills on the table or some policy change that will require a flick of the switch. So I best have the knowledge to make a choice.

Oh… Why don’t they ask for ID when you vote? Neither location I went to asked to see ID. You can impersonate someone and vote on their behalf.

Did you vote today?