A funny thing happened when I went to vote in the primary election. I signed in at my district’s desk and a poll worker printed my information on a green card. She gave the card to another worker, who adjusted some mechanism on the side of the voting booth. I entered the booth and soon discovered I could not push down the lever for my candidate. When I asked for assistance, the poll worker checked the lever and said with a shocked tone: “You’re a Republican?”

The shock spread to all the women at the table, who apologized profusely for their supposition. Unfortunately, they said, I would have to fill out a paper ballot or wait for a Democrat to come in and use the booth, as it was already primed for Democrat voters. I wasn’t in a rush and so elected to wait, but voting was very, very light. Eventually, a black woman in a wheelchair entered the area and the poll workers breathed a sigh of relief. The woman signed her name, the poll worker filled out a green card, and — oh, no. The woman was a Republican, too. We both ended up filling out the paper ballots and had a good laugh.

Of course, I can’t presume that my experience augurs surprises on a national level, but I did just learn that a black entrepreneur, Herman Cain, has donated $1 million to support the candidacy of black GOP candidates. In a press release issued last week, he writes: “More and more African Americans are pro-life, pro-family, pro-school choice and pro-growth. We are working to earn their trust and their votes — and are making incredible gains in the community. Our message to African Americans is simple — it’s time you vote for candidates who support our values — Republican candidates!”

Yikes: That definitely does not augur well for the Democratic Party, which has more or less taken the black vote for granted. It’s another matter in New York, because the Republicans here have written off that same vote.

How else to explain the lack of support for Randy Daniels, the only candidate with the name recognition in the black community to present a challenge to gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer? A former secretary of state under Governor Pataki, Mr. Daniels was responsible for the sweeping redevelopment of Harlem and while on the campaign trail was received positively in upstate counties. He dropped out when it became obvious that Albany Republicans were not willing to back him. What a stupid decision — one among many.

I’ve held off switching my registration to the Conservative Party to see if the RNC has more sense than the New York GOP when it comes to supporting the best candidates regardless of their color and regardless of their odds of winning against incumbent Democrats.

Speaking of long odds, Senator Clinton is considered to be a shoo-in for re-election. Her opponent is a former mayor of Yonkers, John Spencer, who was virtually unknown until the Clinton machine went into attack mode and turned the spotlight on him. The Clinton campaign chest is overflowing with donations even though a 2000 campaign donor, Peter Paul, has filed a suit again the Clintons for fraud, coercion, and conspiracy (Paul v. Clinton). Naturally, it’s not coming to trial until after the election. Does anybody care?

Mr. Spencer says our junior senator actually has a very bad voting record on issues that benefit New Yorkers, and that she has not been able to fulfill her 2000 campaign promises. Her television ads clearly show that she’s focused on the status quo, not solutions.

One ad shows a black woman thanking Mrs. Clinton for preventing President Bush from touching Social Security. Blacks are the ethnic group that benefits the least from the current Social Security process because their lower than average life expectancy means that many benefits go uncollected. Mr. Bush’s plan would have allowed ownership of their contributions to the system, which could then be passed on to their heirs. The black community should be battling for this change. Why isn’t it?

Mrs. Clinton insists that there is no Social Security crisis even though her husband, in a 1998 speech at Georgetown University, warned that “Social Security would be bankrupt by 2030 if nothing were done.” Retiring baby boomers will be draining the entitlement programs, and we don’t have the workforce necessary to fund them.

If Mrs. Clinton ever agrees to debate Mr. Spencer, these facts and an examination of her voting record might lower the odds in the Senate race. Her worst fear will be that minorities actually start voting for candidates with their values instead of party affiliation.

Then poll workers could quit assigning political labels by the color of voters’ skin.