Confusion, low turnout and polling stations hidden from people: how the elections went in New York

Today, November 7, New Yorkers elect members of the City Council. 51 people decide almost all issues in the life of the city, but voters, it seems, did not appreciate the importance of the moment and are in no hurry to vote. ForumDaily New York correspondent Valeria Fadeeva visited three sites in Brooklyn. There were almost no voters there, and worse, in some cases she even had difficulty finding polling stations: there were no signs or signs.

First Lot (Trump Village Building 3A): Emptiness and Unfulfilled Promises

Polls in New York are supposed to open at 6:00 a.m., but here, due to a system glitch, they weren't able to open until XNUMX a.m. At the same time, the hour-long delay did not change anything much - while the system was being repaired, only one voter showed up to vote, who was asked to return later.

The site's coordinator, Anne, complained that turnout was incredibly low. During the first 4 hours of work, no more than 10 people came to vote. But even from this small handful of people, not everyone was able to vote. Due to changes in the district map and the location of polling places, many did not go where they were supposed to. As a result, they were sent to other polling stations, although voters themselves claim that they were not warned about the new voting places.

At this location (despite the fact that it is in the heart of Brighton Beach, and also despite promise on the city hall website) there are no Russian-speaking translators. There is one Russian-speaking woman who works as a coordinator, but she is prohibited from providing translation services. Her attempt to explain something to an elderly voter ended with a scolding from the management - according to the protocol, coordinators should only perform their direct duties and not try to be translators.

So if you need a translator, it is better to bring one with you. According to the rules, every person coming to vote has the right to bring a relative or friend to help with translation. This friend is not required to provide identification or sign any paperwork. After he explains to the voter what is said on the ballot, he will be taken behind a special fence so that he does not influence the will of his friend. Also Anne advises writing letters in advance requesting an interpreter in a certain language and at a certain precinct to the election commission. This can help.

Second area (IS 98 Bay Academy): quest and adventure

Here our Valeria and elderly voter Tatyana began the quest “find a polling station.” They arrived at the address at the same time and spent a long time looking for where to go. There were no signs at the main entrance to the building, and there were no stickers on the floor with an arrow indicating the direction to the site. They eventually went inside the building and asked the people working there for help. One employee suggested that the entrance to the voting station was on the back side of the building under a canopy from construction work. He really was there, and there was also a sticker with an arrow on the floor - just before the entrance, where, in fact, there was no need for it. This was the end of Valeria's adventures, but not of Tatiana's. The elderly woman was sent to another polling station, although she claims that she did not receive any letters about the change of voting location.

This site was also empty - coordinators, a couple of voters and two (!) Russian-speaking translators.

Local resident Mohammad Akrad, an immigrant from Pakistan, also walked in circles for a long time until he found the entrance to the site, and was very worried that the elderly would not reach the site at all, since it was so hidden.

Mohammad is an active resident of Brighton Beach. He has been writing requests to the mayor’s office for several years now. hang up a sign with the name of the street “Brighton 10”, otherwise “visitors will get lost.”

“To solve any problems, Brooklyn residents need to unite and respect each other, and take the initiative (indicate and report problems to 311), and not wait by the sea for weather and shift responsibility to each other and local authorities,” Mohammad noted and took advantage of the occasion boast of knowledge of the Russian language - told how in 1972 they gathered as a whole school to listen to Soviet radio and read the newspaper Pravda.

Third section (PS 197 – The Kings Highway Academy): peace and quiet

There is also a Russian translator here, although he didn’t have much work - not a single voter entered the polling station for several hours. In addition, there is not a single inscription in Russian at this location (only English, Spanish and Chinese). So Russian-speaking voters really need a translator here.

Valeria also passed by another location near the Brooklyn Public Library - Kings Highway Branch. Most people went to the library, found out about the showing of some films, and, in fact, went for books or the Internet, and not to vote.

We are waiting for official results and data on turnout - maybe it was better in other areas.