This election is the first time that New York has allowed early voting locations in a presidential election. Long lines were anticipated from day one.
Thousands of voters cast their ballots early at InTech Academy in the Bronx to make sure their vote is counted before Election Day.
More than 457,735 ballots have been cast in the city since early voting began on October 24, according to the New York City Board of Elections. Throughout the country, so far over 65.5 million votes were cast, exceeding pre-election votes in 2016. The last day of early voting in New York is the Sunday before election day, November 3.
Voters waited in line for up to two hours, with a sense of purpose to elect who they believe will bring change for their lives and restore the nation. “I feel like the person I voted for is going to bring the country back together,” said Andrea. She and her husband Victor voted for Biden and said they voted “to make a difference.”
One woman standing in line, who did not want to give her name, said she never missed voting in an election since 1988. “So many things made me want to vote this year,” she said. “And I’ve voted for both parties before. I’m not voting for a party, I’m voting for the correct candidate.”
Some people left the polls proud to have cast their ballots. They left cheering and people waiting in line applauded them.
Poll workers at this site said they prepared for a rush of voters. “We’re expecting a lot of people to come out. Yesterday we didn’t have a lot of long lines. There were 1,705 people who came out, but we didn’t have a long line. Whereas today they are zig-zagging through the tracks,” said David Agront, a poll worker at InTech Academy, said as he pointed to the running tracks.
In response to criticism from Mayor de Blasio, Governor Cuomo, and other elected officials, the Board of Elections will add more poll workers and expand hours to keep up with the demand. “We’re hoping that this helps to cut down on Election Day,” said Agront.
On the day that we observed, the lines appeared endless, but poll workers say there is a cut-off plan at the end of scheduled hours. “We’ll send the NYPD to the end of the line and whoever is waiting before the police officer gets a chance to vote. Anybody else that comes after cannot vote,” said Agront. And elderly voters who can’t stand for long, are physically disabled, or have other health complications are accommodated with an escort to the front of the line.
For this election, people seem to accept their civic duty as a means to help things get better. Maria, 69, wishes for more unity and resolution in the next couple of years.
“I hope that this country is going to be better, especially for me first, the people, the feelings, the respect, the humanity … we really need something like that,” Maria said. “We need peace. We got a country here, we got our own problems, we need to fix it.”
