How Long Did You Have to Wait to Vote Today?

I voted at Montezuma Elementary, where I had to wait almost 50 minutes to cast my ballot. Fifteen precincts were voting in a location where normally only four do. A volunteer explained that so few polling places were being used because the Democratic Party did not have enough volunteers to work at more locations.

In addition, the Albuquerque Journal reports "Brian Colon, state Democratic Party chairman, had estimated 30,000 to 40,000 voters would turn up at 184 polling sites around the state in the Democratic-run caucus, which is run like a primary. That compares with about 105,000 votes cast in the caucus in 2004." Why on earth would they predict that only a third of the people who voted last time would show up this time?

I'm interested to hear others' experiences and observations.

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Permalink Reply by chantal on February 6, 2008 at 7:32am

Ah but Fleck-Heineman would have gotten you nowhere at Wilson Elementary. A-F was bloated.

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Permalink Reply by John Fleck on February 6, 2008 at 8:26am

I have been a bad parent in so many ways. Sorry.

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Permalink Reply by Sarah on February 6, 2008 at 9:42am

I also voted at Monte Vista Church and was in the G-M line. It was very long at 5:30 PM! It was about an hour and a half wait. No parking anywhere near it, though.

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Permalink Reply by Lushy on February 5, 2008 at 10:34pm

I voted at Hoover Middle School. They were out of ballots when I got there but the line went quickly once the ballot supply was replenished. I only waited for about 40 minutes total. It was encouraging to see so many people turn out to vote and stay, even when it became apparent that there would be a wait.

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Permalink Reply by Adelita on February 6, 2008 at 6:44am

I voted at Douglas MacArthur Elementary around 12:15. Had to wait around 45 minutes, but the vibe in line was so cool - almost festive. The line snaked around the inside of the school's gym and stretched out pretty far outside. People were pretty excited to be voting for such an important and historic caucus! We were all cracking jokes about Bush and expressing our relief that his reign of terror will be over soon.

I just feel bad that I wasn't able to volunteer my time to help out my fellow democrats and poll workers!

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Permalink Reply by Edith Grove on February 6, 2008 at 9:14am

I voted at Lowell in the middle of the afternoon to avoid both the lunch and early off from work crowds. It only took about five minutes in line. Parking was much better than having to vote at Monte Vista Elementary (where this is no parking anywhere near due to the university neighborhood restrictions). It's nice to hear we had a healthy turnout!

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Permalink Reply by jeff on February 6, 2008 at 9:59am

we voted at montezuma elementary; we waited an hour after arriving just before 4:00pm.
by the time we were at the front of the line, i'd estimate the wait had almost doubled.
they had two ballot stations set up in a small conference room so that was clearly the bottleneck.
one guy arriving at 5:00pm just went ballistic and threatened a lawsuit because of the wait....

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Permalink Reply by Laura on February 6, 2008 at 10:02am

What's even worse about this is Dems were supposed to have learned their lesson in 04.

This is an excerpt from last week's Santa Fe Reporter, in which editor Julia Goldberg interviews Dem Party executive director, Laura Sanchez:

What are some of the lessons learned here from 2004?
I think in 2004, leading into that caucus, the expectation was to have about 50,000 [voters]. We actually ended up having 86,000 casting ballots�it was an overwhelming success, but now we�ve learned from that and can prevent some of the problems.

http://sfreporter.com/articles/publish/cover-013008-whack-a-pol.php

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Permalink Reply by Jim Scarantino on February 6, 2008 at 10:29am

Fifty minute wait at Montezuma Elem at 1 p.m. It was very hard for the elderly. No place for them to sit as they waited. I saw people take a look at the long, long line and turn around. Parking was impossible. Only two ballot boxes for this huge voting place that covered many precincts. What was the Democratic Party thinking? Didn't they see the huge turnouts in the preceding states? And they expected a decrease in turnout here? What?

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Permalink Reply by hbl on February 6, 2008 at 11:26am

FOUR HOURS AND FORTY-FIVE MINUTES at Rio Rancho high school. I just posted a blog about it. Completly not necessary and I'm writing a letter to the Sandoval County Dems and the NM Dems. I fear many NM Democrats in Sandoval County are feeling disenfranchised this morning.

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Permalink Reply by once banned twice shy on February 6, 2008 at 11:30am

I posted elsewhere, and I'll post here that the NM Democratic Party is a disgrace. There is really no excuse for their poor planning. I also read that they spent all their money on Richardson's campaign and didn't have enough left for this caucus. Look, it's simple. If you can't run an efficient caucus, then quit having one and let the state run the primary. Or, if you INSIST on being part of Stupor Tuesday, then get your ducks in a row and open the polls longer at least. They couldn't find enough volunteers, you say? Well, then, how about PAYING people to be poll workers? How did they get the word out that they needed volunteers? Maybe they could run an ad. I don't know, but this just reinforces the idea that NM is a third-world country right here in the U.S.

But look on the bright side: we don't have to worry about the Republicans pulling any shenanigans to disenfranchise voters here--the NM Democratic Party does it all by themselves!

*And no, I didn't volunteer because a) I had no clue they NEEDED volunteers--or I would have; and b) I am a registered Independent and probably therefore not allowed to volunteer.

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Permalink Reply by Michelle Meaders on February 6, 2008 at 10:46pm

I don't think the party contributes to candidates, especially not the state party to a national candidate. It's the other way around. Richardson not only didn't help fund the caucus this year, he sucked up a lot of individual contributions that would usually have gone to the party. Maybe we should vote on weekends like civilized countries; would it be easier to get workers or to get time to vote then?

How do you get information at a half-million Democrats in New Mexico who don't notice the Party's websites, e-mails (once you get on the list), meetings, and offices? And people don't read newspapers much any more, and seem to lose their voter cards, which have the precinct numbers on them. Radio and TV advertising costs big bucks, and competes with candidate's ads. And Americans are working (and commuting) more hours for less -- they don't have the time to volunteer they used to. And they have been encouraged to distrust government, politics, and political parties. I read that most volunteer work these days is at churches. Don't forget that the legislature is going full blast and lots of activists are up there working and advocating. And finally, how much time and money is spent at casinos that used to go into community work and local politics?