Voting problems at the Mary Lindley School...

"Rock the Vote" and the facebook vote campaign have preached the value of voting to America's younger generation for a few years now.  Yet in Manhattan's youth-dominated Murray Hill neighborhood, young people were noticeably absent from the polls.  


Though the area is heavily populated with college students and recent graduates, Martin A. Lewis and Dominick Sclafani noted that the elderly had the highest number of voters.  Lewis and Sclafani were door clerks at P.S. 116 on Election Day.  

Murray Hill voters were able to vote from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. in their neighborhood's elementary school - P.S. 116 The Mary Lindley Murray School located at 210 E. 33^rd St.  


In general, Lewis noted that only approximately 2/3 of Murray Hill's registered voters voted in this election.  Though he says 90 percent voted in the 2008 election. 


Besides for a decrease in voter turnout, Lewis also noted that there were problems with the actual ballot.  "The big complaint is that you can't see the writing," Lewis said, "they better straighten out the ballot by 2012."  


The ballots were not the only problem with the actual voting system.  Douglas A. Kellner, chairman of the New York State Board of Elections showed up at the school to discuss how the setup of the voting machines did not conform to state regulations. 

However, these problems did not stop the dedicated solicitors who stood outside the school trying to sway voters towards their cause.  Clad in a winter jacket, Leyah Farber held her position outside the school all day - from 5:30 a.m. until the polls closed.  Farber was campaigning for her older brother, Saul Farber, the Republican candidate for New York State Senate. 

Joining her in the cold was Michael W. Chan, candidate for New York State Assembly.  Though it is Chan's first election, he believes with his financially savvy background as a bank-regulator he can really change things.  "The New York State government is facing a lot of deficit problems and there's a lot of corruption," Chan said. 

Though there were more than a few problems in Murray Hill, Gail A. Shim, an information clerk still feels privileged.  "As long as we have places where we can go to vote - everything is beautiful," Shim said, "it's a great thing that we can vote today."