What a ridiculous clusterfuck
I just finished "caucusing" at Rondo Education Center in St. Paul. I put the word in parentheses because it's not necessary to actually caucus in order to vote in the DFL presidential primary. You simply fill out a ballot indicating your pick--just like any other election. Yet for some ridiculous reason we're all forced to show up at the same damn time to try and vote for president.
The good news: turnout is definitely heavy. The bad news: it's a chaotic scene. I had to stand in line for 20 minutes to cast my ballot in ward one, precinct four--and I arrived even before the six o'clock door opening.
By 6:30, there were hundreds of people waiting to file into the correct classrooms to cast their ballots. There weren't nearly enough election workers to help direct traffic. The parking lot and surrounding streets were a nightmare. Undoubtedly people left before voting, rather than deal with the mess. It definitely seemed to be an overwhelmingly pro-Obama crowd.
By contrast, I've never had to wait one second in line while voting in any other election. Why the hell does Minnesota persist in staging such a ridiculous process? It seems designed to make it as difficult as humanly possible for people to vote.
A couple of (not very good) photos after the jump should give some sense of the scene.
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