HashtagNYCVOTES

So while my classmates were out in the electric atmosphere that defines an election day in New York City, I was shivering in bed with a 102 degree fever. Bed ridden, sniffly and definitely contagious, I did not make it out to cast my ballot.  But even while I was sat in bed surrounded by unpleasantly damp tissues, I was still in the thick of things--thanks to Twitter.

To avoid debacles like Primary Day, Mayor Bloomberg's camp came up with an efficient way to handle problems at the polls: tweet about them. Mayor Bloomberg's twitter account issued this statement via Twitter to voters on the morning before election day:

"Let's make sure every vote counts tomorrow. If there’s a pblm at your polling place, call 311 or tweet it using #nycvotes." 

This way, all election-related tweets would be on one single web page, and everyone--voters, poll workers, government officials--would be privy to the issues at hand. So as the day wore on, I watched New York City voters voice their complaints, compliments, and everything in between. The takeaway? The font on the new ballots is too small, and some of our poll workers could use a little sensitivity training. But for me, the best part was seeing some classic New York City 'tude in 140 characters or less.  Here it is, the best of New York City's election day tweets:


 Paladino claims to love his country #lol #delusional #nycvotes 


1 friend said that there's more privacy in urinals than in the *privacy booths* #nycvotes

Just filled out a scathing survey about the rude workers at my polling place on @311NYC's site. #feellikeagrouchygrandpa #nycvotes 


I wish there was a physical manifestation of casting a vote like pulling a lever. Now its a slight sucking sound. #NYCvotes


Eggs are too damn expensive. #nycvotes (@ C-Town Supermarket)


Call it a privacy sleeve if you want but it still looks like a giant manila folder to me. #NYCvotes #ivoted


New pollsite lost my records. Lived at same place for 17yrs. Yo Bloomie, get on that. #nycvotes

Overheard at polling place: "Every time some yuppie comes up with a dumb idea, it messes with my life. I want the machines back." #nycvotes 

And, my personal favorite:


FUBAR! #nycvotes