Age: 31
Neighborhood: Middle Village
Political affiliation: Democrat
First time voter: No

Surrounded by campaign materials and holed up with his laptop and overactive cell phone in a corner of the Starbucks on 181st Street in Washington Heights, Gregg Ross carefully coordinated volunteers for Barack Obama Tuesday morning.

Boxes of fliers, stickers, and posters sat on the chairs and floor beside him.

“The energy we have experienced for Barack is very exciting,” said Ross, 23. “It has gained momentum recently.”

Ross was part of a network of New York-based coordinators charged with directing volunteers towards polling places.

“This is a grassroots movement,” he said. “We put this together ourselves in this neighborhood. It was from the bottom up.”

Ross was responsible for dispatching all of the volunteers canvassing in New York’s 71st Asssembly District, which encompasses West Harlem and Washington Heights. As volunteers arrived at the Starbucks to get their assignment and collect materials, Ross reminded them to stay 100 feet from the polling entrance – and to report back if they see any suspicious activity.

Throughout the day, Ross monitored the status of various polling sites to ensure that the area was adequately staffed by Obama supporters. He dispatched volunteers to a total of 11 polling places.

Even though Rep. Charles B. Rangel, the influential chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and the rest of the Harlem and Washington Heights political machine supports Hillary Clinton, Ross believes that those endorsements do not hold much sway with the electorate.

“What we found is that people aren’t interested in the endorsements of the establishment,” he said.

Volunteer Flora Huang has also noticed a neighborhood shift in attitudes towards Obama recently.

“Two months ago, I noticed it was very hard to get people to support Obama,” she said, noting most of the Obama supporters she has met recently were younger voters.

Huang, 33, campaigned in the district early Tuesday, and was approached by several Starbucks customers who asked for signs and buttons.

As the Starbucks began to fill up, customers began to eye the seats covered in campaign materials.

“Could you maybe move that box?” asked one woman pushing a double stroller.

Ross quickly put it on the floor. “I don’t want to take over the place,” he said.

New Yorkers at polling sites around the city weren’t satisfied to just let their votes do the talking for them on Super Tuesday. Many had lots to say about the candidates, the campaign, the country –and themselves. Here’s a sampling:

In 2004, Janet Pommells, a Coney Island resident since 1990, crossed party lines to vote for George W. Bush because she believed his rhetoric about Saddam Hussein and the war in Iraq.

“But that turned out to be a lie,” she said.

So Pommells cast her primary ballot for Sen. Barack Obama, whom she believes will bring the troops home.

Beyond the war, the 40-year-old nursing-home agency supervisor expressed some common voter concerns: healthcare and the economy.

“It’s a depression,” she said, “though they don’t want to tell you that.”

She doesn’t have anything against Sen. Hillary Clinton. But after one Clinton presidency, Pommells said, it’s time to “Give someone else a chance.”

***

Richie Messing, a life-long Democrat, was on the fence for a while about whether to support Clinton or Obama.

“I like Obama, I really do,”he said. “I think he’s probably less corrupted as a politician.”

Nevertheless, he decided to cast his primary ballot for Clinton.

“Hillary is more electable,” said the 46-year-old educator, who lives on the Coney Island-Brighton Beach border in Brooklyn.

***

There’s been a lot of talk about “change” – but Dr. Louis L. Peralte has his own definition.

“Change is just a word,” Peralte said at the Flushing High School polling site. “I want change but Obama is not the right man.”

A staunch Democrat ever since he emigrated from France in 1965, Peralte voted for Clinton.

The 60-year-old family physician who works and lives in Flushing, Queens, said the former First Lady has White House experience while Obama doesn’t have enough seasoning. “That lady knows what she is doing,”he said.

“Obama’s time will come but we need Clinton now.”

***

Helen Ladoucey voted for some who isn’t running anymore.

“I am anti-Bush,”said Helen Ladoucey, a housewife from Flushing, Queens. “He is the worst President ever!”

The sprightly 87-year-old voted for John Edwards even though the former North Carolina senator has scrapped his campaign. “I know he is not going to win, but his name is still on the ballot,” said Ladoucey.

Ladoucey believes that Edwards was unfairly treated by the media and was “caught up in the melodrama” of history-making runs by Clinton and Obama.

“John Edwards had the most comprehensive healthcare plan, but people were only concerned about his $400 haircuts,” she said.

***

Collin Pelle’s father roused him out of bed at 5:30 a.m. to make sure the 22-year-old voted before heading to work.

But the South Bronx native said he did not need his father’s wake up call. The hope that Obama could win the Democratic nomination, the young Pelle said, got him out of bed before dawn.

“Obama definitely has some issues that he wants to take care of,” said Pelle.

Pelle’s father, Gary Pelle, a Vietnam War veteran, had some more specifics observations.

“I’m an Army guy and I know what we have to do in Iraq and I trust Obama will do the right thing,” said 55-year-old Pelle, dressed in a dapper button down shirt with a wool cap that matched his beige pants. “It is not about experience, it’s about trust.”

***

Margaret Bramble is two weeks away from having her second child and three credits away from completing a political science degree. She arrived at her polling station in the South Bronx to cast her vote for Hillary Clinton.

“I think she has a better chance of passing a healthcare plan because of the experience she has gained,” said Bramble, 38, who speaks softly with a slight Caribbean accent.

“A women might have a different perspective on how to deal with our international relationships,” said Bramble, who added that her husband also supports Clinton.

“Since I am the one with the degree in political science, he usually listens to me,”she said.

***

A tall man sporting a leather jacket and a tan turtleneck zipped all the way up to his chin stood on the edge of Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway, handing out Obama flyers. But on Super Tuesday, he was still immersed in the Super Bowl.

“The people who are voting for Hillary look like Patriot fans,” said 30-year-old Curtis Bolden. “People voting for Obama are full of cheer, like Giants people.”

“I believe he’s gonna help spread the wealth,” Bolden said. “But on the same note, I believe he’s a stern dude and he’s gonna make people work for the money.”

Bolden, who is African-American, said he is especially excited about what Obama’s presidency would mean to minorities.

“African-Americans have really struggled in past decades. He was influenced by that. I think he will look out for all minorities as a whole –even non-naturalized citizens,” Bolden said.

***

Jennifer Keiser Gordon, 35 and David Gordon, 38 of Park Slope, Brooklyn have been married for almost four years and they have seen eye-to-eye on everything –until now. Over dinner Monday, David told Jennifer he would be voting for Barack Obama.

“I get an evil look once in awhile –whenever it’s brought up,” David said.

“I don’t believe him! We’ve actually given money to Hillary in the past and he said he was voting for her just a few weeks ago!” said Jennifer, shaking her head and sighing. “I don’t like it.”

“Just because you support a candidate, doesn’t mean you have to vote for him,” David told Jennifer.

“You’re a flip-flopper,”she replied.

***

Sometimes familiarity can play into a voter’s decision to choose a candidate. James Sims, of Richmond Hill, Queens, looked back at the Clinton years as a time when the United States was in a better condition.

“With Hillary in there, even if she screws up, Bill will be there,”Sims, 34, said.

***

Some young supporters of Barack Obama have not only found a presidential candidate, but someone to aspire and look up to, like a respected teacher or family member.

Shelly Rivas, 23, of Ozone Park, Queens, is one such Obama supporter. Obama’s message of change and his background outside of politics has drawn her and other young voters.

“He inspires me to get involved in the political process more than any other candidate in my life,” she said. “You can say it’s emotional, but my gut instinct is to go for Obama.”

Rivas said that, as a Latina, she can relate to Obama’s multi-cultural background. She also said his experience as a community organizer in Chicago and his abandonment of a career as a corporate lawyer contributes to her high opinion of him.

But her biggest source of inspiration doesn’t come from Barack, but from his wife, Michelle Obama. “I love Michelle Obama,” she said. “She’s someone I relate to. She inspires me more than he does.”

***

Standing as close as he could to the orange and white “no soliciting” signs posted around St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, a young man in a crisp white zip-up jacket passed out “Vote Obama ‘08” fliers.

“Hi, please vote for Obama,” said Zoe T. Whisnanat, 25.

Some people took the four by two inch pieces of paper, but most just shrugged him off.

“Obama was the first to bring real change,” said Whisnanat, a West African native and now a Brooklyn resident. “Everything he said, the others adopted.”

This election is the first for Whisnanat, who became a citizen two years ago.

“When he [Obama] is talking to you, you know, he is really talking to you,” Whisnanat said.

***

Rep. Yvette Clarke, of Brooklyn, stopped by the Van Dyke II polling site in her Brownsville district on Super Tuesday. With a Hillary Clinton button on her lapel, Clarke walked around inside and spoke to some of the workers at the tables.

Clarke said that she backed Clinton because of her record as senator, her push for universal healthcare, and her struggle for economic equality.

“She has come forth with some of the best plans,” said Clarke. “Given her tenure in the White House with President Clinton, she knows how to deliver.”

And don’t count Clinton out of the youth-vote race, Clarke said.

“She’s blogging, she’s on the net, she’s everywhere,” Clarke said. “I think that is exciting a lot of young people.”

***

The only thing certain about the youth vote in this year’s primary election is that nothing is certain.

Will Kitcher, 21, of Midwood, Brooklyn, has voted in every election since he turned 18. But today he almost forgot to show up at the polls.

“I didn’t know it was the primary until my friend sent me a text message this morning,” he said. “I just rolled out of bed and came.”

Kitcher, who voted for Clinton, came to the polls with his friend Lily Frost, 20, of Ditmas Park. Frost was still undecided and planned to vote later in the day. “I’m not sure who I will vote for,” she said, “I think I’m going to get in and randomly decide.”

“All my friends are leaning towards Obama,” said Frost, “And it seems like all women want a woman president, but I don’t know the difference between the candidates — I feel like they both have the same opinions,” she said.

***

Tim Stock had been planning to vote for Clinton, but changed his mind a few days before Super Tuesday.

“I can feel the momentum,” said Stock, a 41-year-old advertising strategy consultant who voted in Greenwich Village. “I feel very good about changing to Obama.”

His first-choice candidate was no longer in the race.

“I was originally for Edwards,” he said. “Then, when he wasn’t doing so well, I went for Hillary because it looked like a fait accompli.

“I want to make sure the Republicans don’t win, so I want to elect someone who can beat them. And now I feel like Obama could really do it.”

***

Ralph Christian is a Clinton supporter – barely.

“The divisiveness in this country is leading to destruction,” said Christian, 66, before voting at an elementary school on W. 11th Street in Greenwich Village.

“I think Hillary’s time has come around, and when someone’s time comes, you’ve got to give them a chance,” he said. “As an African-American man, I’ve seen a lot of chances come and go.”

As to why he felt an urgency to vote for Clinton this election cycle, the retiree said, “Obama still has a lot of time.”

***

Sabrina Bozek is a fresh-faced 24-year-old brunette who moved to New York City from Florida six months ago to take a position at a public-relations firm in Manhattan. A regular voter, Bozek wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to vote for her favorite candidate for the 2008 election: Barack Obama.

Minutes after casting her vote, Bozek stood outside her polling center at the Gay and Lesbian Center on W. 13th Street and gushed over Obama.

“I just think he’s the most charismatic candidate we have right now,”Bozek said. “As much as I like Hillary, I think most of America doesn’t identify with her as much as they do with Barack Obama.”

Bozek credits Obama with getting young people to come out and vote. “People my age especially are coming out in droves. I think that’s really important,” she said. “I think only a candidate like Obama can pull it off.”

Bozek, who says the way things have gone over the past seven years has made her “really annoyed,” believes America is ready for a black president.

“If there’s a time, it’s now,” she said. “The color line has been totally blurred. There are definitely people around the country that would disagree but I think the majority of America has the right head on their shoulders and doesn’t look at color.”

***

A striking young woman in a colorful ensemble stepped out of the Metropolitan Community Church on West 36th Street smiling after casting her vote for Obama.

Though Rajiah Williams, 26, now lives on the Upper West Side, she is still registered in her former neighborhood of Chelsea. So she made a special trip to her old polling place during her lunch break from her marketing job on Super Tuesday.

Obama’s tagline, “Change we can believe in,” was the first thing about his campaign that spoke to her. “I really relate to that concept,” she said.

Williams, who is half-Korean and half-black, said Obama’s mixed background is another element with which she strongly identifies.

Still, Williams is hesitant to bet Osama will beat the Republican candidate in November. “I feel like if I were to think about that too realistically, then I might not have voted for him,” she said.

***

Gloria Sostre, 31, a stay-at-home mother of three in East Harlem, paced nervously outside her polling place this afternoon, puffing on a cigarette in the drizzling rain.

“Think, Glory, think,” she muttered. “This is really important.”

“I’m still here thinking who would actually win against the Republican,” she said. “It’s last minute. I’m really struggling. I want to make sure this vote counts.”

Sostre grew up in the Bronx and has lived in East Harlem for the last decade. She worked as a salesperson for a couple years after graduating high school. But after becoming pregnant, she married and quit working.

“My husband and I have been back and forth,” she said. “After this war, who can sit there and clean up the mess?”

“I’m leaning more towards Barack,” she said. “He’s very calm under pressure, he does very well. He’s a young man, let’s give him a chance.”

Then she reconsidered. “But I really want a woman in there.” She stubbed out her cigarette and headed into the polling place. “Let’s see how my heart feels when I get there,” she said.

Fifteen minutes later she emerged smiling.

She voted for Clinton.

***

Kent Edwards, 26, a model and actor, made up his mind to vote for Obama only after speaking to his mother.

“We talked about the Clintons,”he said, “and how they kind of have been bought and sold. I do believe that Clinton has more experience but I like his vision better.”

“I was very torn,” he said today, speaking outside his polling place, a senior center on East 116th Street in Manhattan. “I guess I’m influenced, because I live in New York, about Hillary. I was a big Clinton supporter, Bill Clinton supporter. And I am a supporter of Hillary. But ever since the keynote address [by Obama at the 2004 Democratic Convention], Barack Obama sparked my interest. Then I read his book, ‘Dreams From My Father.’ There were a lot of parallels between his life and mine.”

Like Obama, Edwards has both a white and African-American parent, and was raised in a white household. He grew up in Virginia and moved to East Harlem two years ago, after voting for Al Gore and John Kerry in past elections.

He said he relates to what he called Obama’s “tenacious nature”– something Edwards himself has needed in pursuing his career goals. In addition to modeling and acting, he works as a photographer and personal trainer.

“He was an organizer in Chicago,” he said of Obama, “which takes a lot of determination. A lot of doors slammed in your face, a lot of rejection.

“But he still has the fortitude to push on.”

(Cristina Alesci, Fritzie Andrade, Stephen J. Bronner, Linnea Covington, Claudia Cruz, Allison V. Esposito, Maureen Ker, Francesca Levy, Kathryn Lurie, Barry Paddock and Henry Stewart contributed to this story.)

Between classes and on the way to work, Super Tuesday brought young people out to vote in huge numbers. And among them, supporters of Barack Obama were easiest to find. Voters 18 to 33 were drawn to Obama because they thought he could unite a divided America — and for that matter, the world.

“In the last seven years there’s been a gulf between our country and the rest of the
world,” said Steven Valentino, 23, who voted for Obama. “I think he would go a long way in repairing that.”

If Obama won over the idealists, Clinton held sway among practical Democrats — especially those attracted to her health plan.

“She is adamant about universal healthcare and getting problems solved,” said Stephanie Hernandez, 23, who recently lost her insurance under her parents’ plan.

The need for change in America, which both Barack and Clinton have interjected into their campaigns, especially resonated with young voters on Super Tuesday.

The hard-fought 2008 Democratic campaign, with its historic competition between a woman and an African-American man, has awakened a new generation to politics.

Though the voting statistics were just starting to come in for Super Tuesday, it was already clear that the youth vote had risen dramatically this year compared to 2004. It tripled in the Iowa caucuses and South Carolina primaries, where Obama won, and doubled in the New Hampshire primary, won by Clinton.

More than anything else, young people have responded to Obama’s campaign as a unifier. Miguel Negron, 25, said he was tired of the widening gap between Republicans and Democrats and believed that Obama could close the rift. “Obama can be the type of president who can bring Americans of all different political backgrounds together,” he said.

Tim O’Brian, 21, went a step further and said that because the U.S. is a racially and ethnically diverse country, Obama would be a leader who represented the masses. “I think he could lean the country a bit more towards the left by not being too radical,” O’Brian said. “He’s not too liberal and not too conservative. I like the idea of unification.”

It came as no surprise that many foreign-born New Yorkers, or those who travel abroad, were concerned about America’s international reputation. Andrea Fazzari, 30, a photographer, travels extensively for work, said Obama’s ability to repair America’s image abroad is what drove her to support his campaign. “I see what’s going on outside the U.S.,” she said. “We’ve gone so far downhill.”

Despite the inspiration Obama excites in many first-time voters, Clinton’s experience was far more important for those who voted for her. “It’s a difficult choice for me because Obama is a truly contemporary candidate,” said 33-year-old Igor Siddiqui. “He’s the most global candidate that this country has ever seen. He’s far more reflective of my own background and place in the world.”

But in the end, Siddiqui decided Clinton would do a better job as president.

Nationwide polls have shown Obama attracting more of the youth vote so far. But that did not persuade Matt Giordano, 22, a senior at Manhattan College to vote for him. Giordano remained loyal to Clinton because of her health care proposal.

Samantha Lowrie, 29, agreed. Each time she goes to the doctor for her yearly checkup, she said, she is billed nearly $1,000.

“Hillary Clinton has the best plan to lead to universal health care,” said Lowrie.

Despite the close national contest, the 2008 campaign also stood out for its remarkable civility, at least among Obama and Clinton supporters. At heart, many Democrats seemed to like both Obama and Clinton.

Nicole Bouquio Negron, 24, voted for Clinton even though her husband is an Obama supporter.

“We have different views,” Negron said. “I completely understand why he’s voting for Barack. We’ll definitely both vote for either Clinton or Obama in the general election.”

Jason Baumgartner, 30, has an even better compromise, he suggests “eight years for Hillary and eight years for Barack.”

(AnnMarie Costella, Caitlin Drexler, Shuka Kalantari, Daniel Macht, Rosaleen Ortiz, Mellissa Seechavan, Craig Thompson and Matthew Townsend contributed reporting.)

Vote aqui­!

Blue and red diamond-shaped signs in Korean, Spanish, English and Chinese urged residents to vote at the Saint Sebastian Parish polling station in Woodside, Queens.

The posters also were outside the Charles O. Dewey School in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, as well as hundred of other polling sites throughout the five boroughs, signs of the changing city.

As immigrants become citizens and gain more electoral power, translators at polling stations are playing an increasingly critical role.

According to the 2000 Census, more than 66,000 foreign-born residents make up 60.3 percent of the population of Community District 2, which includes Long Island City, Sunnyside, and Woodside. Many residents trace their place of birth to countries as diverse as Ecuador, Columbia, China, Korea, and Ireland.

“A lot of Spanish-speaking people that come here need to know if they can register, if they can vote today,” said Vicenta Damiani, 39, a voter and translator from Ozone Park, Queens. “I feel good, I feel useful. A lot of people don’t even know how to say hello in English, but they want to vote.”

Inside the Catholic school’s small gymnasium, about ten interpreters filled several long tables, eager to offer assistance with the voting machine or to help voters locate their polling place.

Meanwhile, translators were in full force at the Charles O. Dewey School on Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn to assist Spanish-speaking voters

“There are a lot of Spanish people who don’t understand English or speak it,” said Wanda Reyes, a 48-year-old school aide. “I help them read the ballot and explain to them what it’s about and then how to sign it.”

Reyes got involved after a co-worker asked her to help with translating for an anticipated big Latino turnout. The Hispanic population makes up the largest racial group in Sunset Park with 63,332, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. The neighborhood also has a large and growing Asian population.

Interpreters, no matter where they are working, are trained to keep their role to the mechanics of voting. Many take pride in providing an important service.

“If you can’t vote, you ain’t nobody,” said Damiani. “More people are coming out, doing anything to vote. They need change, they need benefits.”

Gae W. Sang, 21, sees little difference between the two major political parties, or their candidates. The Brooklyn College student said she is frustrated that her parents cannot vote because they are permanent residents, not citizens.

As a registered independent voter, she can’t vote in primaries, but spent Super Tuesday in Woodside working as a Korean translator. For her, translating is the best way to be a part of the political process.

“The Koreans that come are usually senior citizens,” said Sang. “They have difficulty reading and can’t speak the language. I think they would still vote, but it would take a longer time, and I am kind of scared that they would vote for the wrong person.”

Local students, energized by the presidential race, signed up as campaign volunteers – passing out flyers, making phone calls and flocking to rallies leading up to Super Tuesday.

Whether they’re working for Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. Hillary Clinton, the political newcomers said they’re driven by a desire for change – and a hope they can help shape the country’s future.

“People want a renewed faith in politics,” said Anna Durret, leader of Students for Hillary Clinton at Columbia University.

This year’s unusually competitive presidential primary has led some of Brooklyn’s own media elite to an unusual decision: for the first time, some local news outlets made endorsements in the national race.

“I don’t know how much difference it makes,” said Ed Weintrob, who publishes The Brooklyn Paper, a weekly. “But we felt collectively we should let people know what our thinking is. Hopefully they’ll consider our points.”

The paper frequently endorses local candidates, but never in Weintrob’s memory has it endorsed a presidential prospect.

“People had different levels of emotion,” Weintrob said, “but we all agreed.”

The endorsement sites Senators John McCain and Barack Obama as the candidates “most likely to restore America’s position as a shining beacon to the world.”

Other local media, including the blogs “Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn,” and “The Brooklyn Optimist,” also endorsed Obama.

Louise Crawford, author of “Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn,” has been blogging about the borough for four years.

For Crawford, endorsing Barack Obama was as much an attempt to make up her own mind as influence others’. She said that writing down her thoughts “organized her thinking.”

Crawford doesn’t believe she’ll single-handedly convert legions of Brooklynites to Barack, but said “it’s going to influence people, one way or the other.”

“People want to pick my brain just like I want to pick other people’s brains,” Crawford said.

Brooklyn has 1,150,000 registered voters; The Brooklyn Paper publishes 52,000 copies weekly. “Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn” gets between 2,000 and 3,000 hits a day.

An unscientific exit poll on Super Tuesday found no awareness of the endorsements, and a broader antipathy to the practice.

Williamsburg voter Nathan Ewing said that he was “not even remotely” aware of the local endorsements. “I try to find out about the candidate based on my own information,” Ewing said. “Not what someone else tells me.”

Both The Brooklyn Paper and “Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn” cited intangibles over policy for choosing Obama over Sen. Hillary Clinton.

“We don’t want to go through another four or eight years of antagonism,” Wentrob said. “The viciousness of the opposition to the Clintons is known, we lived through it. The Clintons feel the same antagonism towards their opponents. It’s a mess. With Obama there’s hope.”

The Rev. Calvin Butts, the politically influential leader of Harlem’s famed Abyssinian Baptist church, endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton last month. But that didn’t stop volunteers from Harlem For Obama from distributing flyers outside the W. 138th Street church, trying to sway voters.

Djenny Passe-Rodriguez spoke with Harlem churchgoers about the appropriateness of religious leaders endorsing candidates from the pulpit.

Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential bid has drawn the interest of African immigrants – including those from Kenya, where the candidate’s father was born.

Some are planning to vote for Obama, while others say he has no chance of winning because of thee color of his skin.

Adeola Oladele spoke with African immigrants in Brooklyn.

Annemarie Martinez, the poll coordinator for the city Board of Elections in Jamaica Estates, Queens, walked from table to table in P.S. 178’s gym, checking on her staff of poll officers — a group of 13 middle aged men and women who sat ready for a giant stream of voters to pour in.

“Maybe they’ll come after work,” poll official Jay Dean said.

But maybe there weren’t many voters because P.S. 178 is off the beaten path — and there weren’t any signs to help those unfamiliar with the Radnor Road school.

P.S. 178 lay on a one-way street, east of Saul Weprin Drive, where immaculate suburban driveways empty onto the Grand Central Parkway. A copse of skinny, rotten trees hid the school grounds from the traffic jams less than two blocks away.

In fact, this polling area is so well hidden that, on the day that voters were expected to turn out in droves, P.S. 178 was almost empty. Even the Clinton and Obama supporters were absent.

“I’ve been doing this for 17 years and I’ve never seen it so quiet,” said Martinez. “Maybe they thought that they had this place tied up and decided to campaign somewhere else.”

A spokeswoman for the Board of Elections said that there was no reason signs should be in short supply, especially on Super Tuesday.

“They had plenty of signs,” said the spokeswoman, Valerie Vasquez. “We provide signage to all of the polls: I don’t know why they weren’t up.”

The Board of Elections’ phone bank and website enable voters to find the location of their neighborhood polls. But first-time voters and others unfamiliar with the area were forced to rely on flawed directions.

“I don’t know where Radnor Road is,” said one subway worker. “But that way is numbers,” she said pointing south, “and that way,” she said, pointing north, “is names.”

“You want names,” she said.

After asking three transit employees, one gas station attendant, two nurses at an obstetrics clinic, a lone BMX biker and two morning joggers, this reporter could not find P.S. 178.

“Can you tell me where Radnor Road is?” the reporter asked a bus driver.

The driver smiled and pointed north.

“It’s right there,” he said, as the bus ground to a halt.

The road was a dead end.