(Photo via @dagesjuvelierkeates on Instagram)
If you thought the line for a last-minute Halloween costume was as bad as it got, you may have learned otherwise when you headed to the polls this morning. As if the soggy weather wasn’t bad enough, New Yorkers reported downed scanners and waits of up to four hours. (Gonna need those free drinks!) Even Mayor de Blasio had to wait in line; he emerged from his Brooklyn polling location calling for voting reform and saying “NYC deserves so much better.” The state Attorney General’s office announced that as of 3:30pm, it had received roughly 100 complaints about New York City poll sites with broken scanners. Here’s a look at this morning’s carnage in the B+B area.
At St. Cecilia’s church in Greenpoint, voters reported waits of over three hours, as three of four scanners were said to be down.
@electionland here in greenpoint, brooklyn at st. cecilia’s tryna cast my ballot, but there is only 1 functioning machine to scan a few hundred people’s votes! been shuffled through lines for about an hour now and still no where near the 1 machine pic.twitter.com/6jG9brmkxd
— karen g. alonzo (@featherfever) November 6, 2018
Welp. 3/4 of the voting machines broken at Cecelia Church in Greenpoint. 3+ hr wait. Pouring rain. But still, almost no complaining and I didn’t see a single person (of hundreds) give up and walk out. pic.twitter.com/U5QIor7OiX
— Hannis Brown (@quietguynoises) November 6, 2018
Do not be discouraged by the lines to vote in #NYC. It took 3 hours to cast my ballot at St Cecilia in Greenpoint but a tech fixed the three broken machines right before I left. #VoteToday #Vote2018 #nycvotes #IVoted pic.twitter.com/FE7fO3nUzI
— Jeff Conklin (@avantghettonyc) November 6, 2018
If you’re voting at St Cecilia’s in Greenpoint, bring your own pen and ask to use the emergency ballot box or you may be stuck for hours in a line that resembles something from Dr Seuss book.
— Sean Dougherty (@babysean1880) November 6, 2018
At one point, people started doing the Wave. (The “Blue Wave”?)
At St. Cecilia’s in Greenpoint, where some voters have been waiting up to FOUR HOURS because of broken machines. To lift spirits, one woman just convinced everyone to do the wave pic.twitter.com/RvdHwLQMQf
— Jake Offenhartz (@jangelooff) November 6, 2018
The wait was reportedly over two hours long at 80 Dupont Street in Greenpoint, where just one machine was said to be working.
Apparently only ONE MACHINE is working here in north #Greenpoint! The others broke down. Over 100 people waiting in line @BOENYC, this is ridiculous! Cc. @BPEricAdams @NYCMayorsOffice @StephenLevin33 @RepMaloney #ElectionDay pic.twitter.com/kT0o2sFyYT
— Eugene Resnick (@EugeneResnick) November 6, 2018
I waited to cast my ballot for over two hours at Mary D’s Housing for Seniors in Greenpoint, only 1 of 3 scanning machines was working and they kept running out of space, privacy screens, folders, etc. They didn’t start using emergency boxes until the last 10 minutes I was there.
— Frederica Bepler (@beplercise) November 6, 2018
The line in north #Greenpoint to vote is about 100 people deep out of the door! #Vote #ElectionDay2018 pic.twitter.com/eu1opveZnc
— Eugene Resnick (@EugeneResnick) November 6, 2018
At the Pete Mcguinness Senior Center in Greenpoint, scanners reportedly overheated; one voter said there were three scanners down and a wait of over two hours.
@errollouis Three of six scanners broken at Leonard St polling location in Wburg/Greenpoint. Took over two hours to vote, much of that time outside in a downpour. NYC needs early voting, more polling places, and better resources on site! Vid of small portion of the line pic.twitter.com/fMzUcf5Fyy
— Stephanie Palumbo (@SJPalumbo) November 6, 2018
At 9:30am in Greenpoint, Brooklyn – lines for scanners at McGuinness Senior Center were an hour long, then election workers announced many scanners had overheated and gone down. Line thinned out when workers had us pile up the ballots to be scanned later. pic.twitter.com/RvCW6ROHlO
— Trevor Boyer (@trevormail) November 6, 2018
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At John Ericsson Middle School 126, near the Williamsburg-Greenpoint border, there was a two-hour wait as four out of five scanners were reportedly down.
At Theater for the New City in the East Village, the “gloriously long” line went “out the door and to the corner.” The line had pretty much disappeared by the time we checked in around 2pm.
This line to vote in Manhattan’s East Village is gloriously long. But wouldn’t it be nice to have early voting in New York so we can spread this enthusiasm (and capacity) over several days? @NYCVotes pic.twitter.com/MEvb3BM4bm
— Pedro Carrillo (@plazarillo) November 6, 2018
One East Villager encountered problems at JASA’s Evelyn & Louis Green Residence at Cooper Square.
I keep seeing people on twitter have this problem. 2/4 scanners were down at my East Village, NYC polling site.
— snqualls (@snqualls) November 6, 2018
In Williamsburg, the voting experience was “rainy, crowded and totally worth it.”
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GO VOTE. You may even come across a sweet, illogically-placed, wooden backboard hoop during the wait
The lines at the Polish & Slavic Culture Center in Greenpoint stretched down the block. One voter there wrote, “I’ve been voting at this polling place for four years and have never seen a line before. And, yet, this morning this.”
Some New Yorkers got lucky, or waited till later in the day, and got “in and out fairly quickly.”
Naturally, local politicians sounded off.
.@BOENYC should’ve anticipated problems w/ multipage ballots & high turnout. We‘ve reported problems to BOE & communicated specific recommendations to ensure every NYer is able to vote.
If you experience problems at the polls, don’t leave. Call 800-771-7755. Your vote matters.
— Tish James (@TishJames) November 6, 2018
This line of people waiting to vote at my precinct is a good reason why we need early voting in NY—
—like the 31 million other Americans who as of yesterday already voted in #Midterms2018 pic.twitter.com/M8GO6q5PEX
— Senator Brad Hoylman (@bradhoylman) November 6, 2018
Talking to people at PS 87 on the UWS. Complete chaos. All the scanners aren’t working. @BOENYC you need to do a better job. We need more techs. We must invest in our election infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/LBukPLCzyx
— (((Jerry Nadler))) (@JerryNadler) November 6, 2018
To everyone waiting in line to vote because of a broken scanner or other problems, your voice matters. Please stay in line. And let’s once and for all get true Board of Elections reforms like early voting so this never happens again. NYC deserves so much better.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) November 6, 2018
I’m at the Ingersoll Community Center in #FortGreene to speak to poll workers and inspect the conditions of ballot scanners that have broken, been fixed, and now are broken again. Only ONE machine is working! @BOENYC, fix this now. Voters, #StayInLine. pic.twitter.com/X31axhzG4t
— Eric Adams (@BPEricAdams) November 6, 2018
Disappointed to hear scanners are broken all over NYC, making it difficult for people (including lots of new voters) to vote. We need Albany to pass early voting/other reforms ASAP in 2019 and the @BOENYC to get its act together. New Yorkers shouldn’t have to deal with this.
— NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo) November 6, 2018
Our Election Day Hotline continues to receive complaints about broken scanners. Every eligible voter has the right to cast a ballot – including an emergency ballot if needed. Do not feel pressured to leave your poll site before you vote, and call us with any issues https://t.co/jHaNgBB1ej
— NY AG Underwood (@NewYorkStateAG) November 6, 2018
Speaking to a reporter, the executive director of the NYC Board of Elections blamed high turnout and wet clothing and ballots, causing one Twitter user to quip, “Democracy Dies in Dampness.”
Democracy Dies in Dampness https://t.co/Q59vaXwwLS
— Daniel Edwards (@ImDanielEdwards) November 6, 2018