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If you are one of the 100,000 people in New York who attempted to register to vote this year via Rock the Vote, you may want to check in on the status of your registration. The Times reports that each and every one of those forms was sent to the wrong address, leaving the state's election board in chaos as they attempt to get the forms to their home county, where they should have been sent originally. While Rock the Vote denies responsibility, the Times does little to veil cynicism toward the organization on everything from the bravado they use in taking credit for getting out the youth vote to their corporate partnerships with AT&T and XBox. With real concern that "if anyone is not going to follow up on this, it would be the younger demographic,” we strongly recommended that anyone who used Rock the Vote to register check in with the NYC Board of Elections site to find out the status of their registration. Election Day is only ten days away!
Rock the Vote Gaffe May Leave Thousands Unregistered
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Why should people rely on a 3rd party like 'Rock the Vote?' Didn't we learn from Florida? The ENTIRE US voting system is a joke. It's an archaic mess.
First, why the hell can't people be automatically registered with a registration number like social security? Then, why isn't election day a national holiday? Many people actually can't get off to vote, or it would be frowned upon if they did. Or do it over 3 days? The voting machines for every county and state are different - and completely open to fraud. It's the 21st century, but we're operating like it's the 20th.
What we need is an entire overhaul and reformation of the system. The people need to push for this - because the last thing most politicians want, is for every American to vote.
How embarrassing.
And yeah rock the vote has had a messiah complex since the early 90s.
This just makes me feel like crying.
Yet (drying my eyes) -- 100,000 registrations being lost, it's time for an intervention, like an extension of the deadline.
That's too many for nobody to do anything about.
Waste...of...time.
The fact is, yesterday I spent all day online and on the phone, calling all the "voter assistance" numbers and clicking on the "voter assistance" websites, and Rock The Vote were the only ones who could provide quick, cooperative answers to my questions.
I even called the Board of Elections, and they only offered to have someone call me back, when they couldn't answer my question about whether a person wearing an Obama or McCain t-shirt to the polls could be barred from voting.
So, this is a huge, huge, huge mistake on their part, but they're still the best place to go for asking questions, or learning where to vote and how.
(I mean, if you're registered. Sigh.)
Once you turn the legal age to vote it should be an automatic process based on your social security number.
Voting in this country is a diaster. Every state should have the same machines and process to vote.
New York is using machines which were made in 50s and 60s!?
Voting should be a national holiday. Or give citizens 3 days to vote. Why is it so difficult for us to get our house in order before we are quick to criticize the way others conduct their elections?
It doesn't matter if you check your registration at this point. I do believe it is too late to fix for this election if you're currently unregistered. So you're just fucked, and so are the rest of us.
Thanks, MTV.
Steven, I would much rather vote on a machine made in 1955 than anything Diebold (or any other kiosk company) has EVER made. I think most New Yorkers agree.
If you're stupid enough to need MTV to register you to vote you don't deserve to vote.
rock the vote was able to nag people incessantly by emailing them and asking them if they'd actually mailed in their applications...you had to click a "yes I did" link to make it stop. So why didn't they do an email blast to NY registrants warning them that their applications might be invalid?
what a lame-ass organization.
If you're not sure if you're registered, you can check with this link
You can find your polling place in the 5 boros here
I wonder if people who got screwed over by RTV can vote by provisional ballot. It'd be worth a try.
btw last day to request an absentee ballot in NYS by mail is this tuesday. you can still get one up until election day by going in person to your borough's B of E office.
why not make voting compulsory? seriously.
how bout when you register for selective service, you're also registering to vote?
It's okay- ACORN registered more than enough illegal immigrants and convicted felons to make up the difference!
Voting isn't automatically registered because the founding fathers realized the stupidity of the masses. The registration process weeds out a lot of lazy, stupid people so that only the relatively educated people who know the issues end up voting.
Then, each vote does not directly count towards the election of the president. The founding fathers added the electoral college to further curb the level of stupidity in the masses.
This archaic system was developed so voting will be less of a popularity contest. But a system where thought goes into the process.
That said, some reforms are necessary. But automatic registration is something I wouldn't want to see (see, e.g., "Harlem Voters" by Howard Stern on Youtube).
Its interesting how as the technology has developed in voting machines they have become more problematic.
I agree make every state use the 50's style machines and make it a national standard
I was registered when I went to apply for Foodstamps.
kidding, that would mean I got FS at 18.
anyway you can register to vote when applying for Foodstamps. it's on the same form.
obviously the FF didn't do a good job of weeding out the stupid.
doesnt matter New york has enough Obama-bots to seal the win for the state. So just sit back and relax while McCain wins.
Uh, I re-registered through Rock the Vote super-super-super late and I'm in the computer. The Times article neglects to mention the lapse in inputting voter information for the BOE.
And as far as being 'automatically' entered into the pool of voters, the DMV assists with that since when you get any form of state ID from them, you can register to vote at the same time. Considering 18 is when one can get a Driver's License in NYC without paying for a course, I don't see the big hassle.
While it would make sense to be automatically enrolled, if you're not smart enough to get yourself registered, then you probably don't deserve to vote anywho.
If you pay taxes, you deserve to vote. I don't care how stupid you are.
That article was completely wrong - see http://www.blog.rockthevote.com/2008/10/ny-times-gets-it-very-very-wrong.html