Respect Authority

I know the election is good and done and it’s high time we stopped writing about it, but I just had to comment on the grand irony emerging in New York City. After swarms of people waited in two-block lines to vote last Tuesday, and office water coolers buzzed with chatter of new voters and black voters, and everyone wondered how many politically apathetic residents would get their lazy asses off the couch this time around, it seems only about 60,000 more people voted in New York this year than in 2004.

I know that seems like a big number, but when you consider the Big Apple’s population has skyrocketed to more than eight million, many of whom aren’t even registered to vote, well it’s just a tad disappointing. 

Now, there was a higher turnout in traditionally nonchalant neighborhoods, including Bedford-Stuyvesant, where a surprised Lou and smug Kira waited for 45 minutes in a significant line last week. But overall, New Yorkers seemed to care just about as much as they did four years ago, which might mean we were already well-informed and politically minded Americans, or might mean it takes more than “change” to get people out of bed early. You decide.

[NY Times]