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Bloomberg Got A "Privacy Sleeve" For His Ballot, Did You?
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 2, 2010
Modified Nov 2, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 2, 2010
Modified Nov 2, 2010
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Weeeellllll,
look who gets a fancy "privacy sleeve" for his precious ballot! One of the top complaints about the new optical scan voting machines is that they're not private enough, and require you to put your unmentionable votes on display for all the world to see. But apparently there are "privacy sleeves" that you can use to cover your ballot as you transport it over to the scanning machine. Did you get one? Because we didn't, and we're wondering if it's only offered to posh people whose delicate votes need an extra dash of discretion. Here's what we're hearing from the lower orders, via Twitter:
- There's more privacy when using an ATM than in the new voting process in NY. Were the levers so bad? (@mandroid)
- The 'privacy sleeve' doesn't even cover the entire ballot and is useless anyway when the scanner worker takes your ballot and watches you feed it in the machine. (Gothamist commenter Gregoire)
- Clerk asked me for ID 2x When told law sez no, asked if new law (no, old) & said 'I'll have to write that down' (@stuloeser)
- In Brooklyn ED 101, 4 out of 4 scanners were not operational at 8 am. (@BrooklynMarylee)
The biggest complaint so far seems to be about the tiny print on the ballots (more on that in a bit), but Twitter user @backyardbeyond explains, "Ballot print is for security; nobody looking over your shoulder can read it. Hell, you looking over your shoulder can't read it." Another voter reports "Mayhem at Good Shepherd poll. All scanning machines jammed, last voter's ballot not even counted. Every1's frustrated in this room." And @ashersarlin says, "Dont forget to exercise ur right to wait all morning for five old people to finish arguing abt a change of address form."
Tagged
election 2010
election day 2010
mayor bloomberg
nycvotes
privacy sleeve
voting machine
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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