The voting process is an antiquated mess. Here’s the abridged version of my voting experience here in NYC:

1) New York .GOV website tells me to vote in East Village - where I voted last time. Not some 3rd party website, like CarolsVoingPalace.com - I’m talking a bonafide .Gov website.

2) East Village volunteers can’t fine me. Have no idea what’s happening, bounce me from line to line. Try sending me to 2nd & A - which I KNOW is wrong. I tell them I want a “manager of some sort.”

3) They try looking me up alphabetically - woman does not know how the alphabet works. She tells me CROWLEY is not there. I proceed to tell her to “Flip the page please,  because CRO is after CRA.” Her response: “Oh, right.”

4) Still not there - they direct me to location in the LOWER EAST SIDE. I walk to new location

5) Lower East Side location does not have me. Try sending me back to East Village. I won’t go. So, now I can’t go in the booth and vote, I must fill out some ballot and affidavit. Bummer. I wanted to get the full experience of pulling the lever  :(

6) Voting ballot is slightly confusing, takes me about 3 minutes to really understand it. Come to find out later, ballot does not have all the races that a typical voter has in the booth.

7) I don’t have anything to write with. They don’t either. I have to borrow a pen from another voter (can I even use a pen?)

8) 15 feet away, an argument is brewing. I listen in. There is a group of 20 people who are waiting in line with numbers - like a freakin’ deli! But the volunteers fucked up the numbers - gave out two #139’s, and skipped #156-174. They try to correct it, making it worse. Three volunteers start to argue over the best way to resolve issue while voters rolled their eyes. I walked out when they started counting people off “Gym Class Style” making voters say their numbers aloud.

So let me ask this - why is the voting process like this? Why can’t I walk in, give them my name, ID and social security # - which they could then look up in a database. If I am there - great. If I am not, direct me to the location in the database. What year is this? Should I toss my stone in a bucket labeled Obama.

update: Michael Torpey just informed me they didn’t even ask for his ID. crazy.