OT - Lines to vote

[RUfinal4]

As a suburban NJ-ite I have never really experienced a line to vote. The worst was maybe 3 or 4 people in front of me. This morning we got to our voting location at 10 to 6 and were 1st on line but 3 minutes later the line was over 20. When I got to NYC for work I saw lines around the block to vote.

My voting area in NJ has a touch screen ballot which is quick. I heard NYC uses scan trons to have a paper backup.

What kinds of lines are you seeing?

 

[Knight Shift]

Busier than usual at my location, a Republican dominated town, but no overly busy.

In before the thread move and before the mudslinging begins.

 

[RUfinal4]

regardless of who wins I think we will see the highest voter % in the last 50-100 years. There seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for this election.

 

[rurichdog]

The lines will drop off as people with jobs usually have to be in by 9. It will pick up again around 5. When I worked nights, if there was a line during the day, it was because one of the Senior buses was onsite.

 

[Leonard23]

My polling location was packed. I waited 30 mins to vote. Poll workers said it was record turnout so far from 6-8 am.

 

[beaced]

A couple of days ago I did the early voting thing. Am considering going to my regular polling place and voting again. Liked it the first time.

 

[G-Bake]

In Ohio, but I probably waited 35-40 minutes to vote here. Got there at 7ish and was out by 7:40

 

[ManasquanMike]

10-15 minutes in Brielle not too bad

 

[Abro1975]

Voting should be easier to increase participation. The USA trails other countries in voter turnout and participation. Wait till tonight when people are lined up for hours. This is just sad.

 

[RUfinal4]

Voting should be easier to increase participation. The USA trails other countries in voter turnout and participation. Wait till tonight when people are lined up for hours. This is just sad.

NJ should do early in person voting. If they allowed us to vote at the County Colleges for the 2 weekends prior to the election I guess at least 25-35% of the votes would have been cast before today.

I feel for the avg person who may be scrambling to vote because of work obligations, commuting issues (the Pascack valley trains were down this morning), childcare issues, and a host of other issues.

It is not inconceivable that a person with a 1 hour train / bus ride from NJ to NYC or Philly is on mass transit around 6 am (when polls open) to get to work by 8 am. Then they can't leave work until almost 6 and if there is any kind of transit delay may not be able to get to a voting location by 8 pm. Even those not on mass transit may have similar issues if they have to work a 12 hour shift today.

 

[Randal7]

I'm down in the financial district in Manhattan, and my polling station this morning was a complete mess. Rampant disorganization, not terribly long lines but no one had any idea what the F was going on -- not the voters, not the volunteers -- NOBODY. It was actually a disgrace, to be perfectly honest. That kind of mayhem just makes you lose some faith in the process because it's rife for corruption when things are that big of a mess.

 

[Rokodesh]

Election day should be a federal holiday, or on a weekend. It's bullshit that something so important is basically an inconvenience for everyone to do. I have to be at work at 8 so can't be late, and by the time I leave traffic is a nightmare. Those who have kids or other obligations are in an even bigger predicament.

 

[lester19]

I waited in line to vote, as well. However I think there was a wait because people had not read the sample ballot before showing up to vote. People were in the booth for an inordinate amount of time. I think they were reading the ballot questions for the first time in the booth.

 

[SHUSource]

I went to my polling place at about 8:30, didn't move an inch for ten minutes, and decided to come back at lunchtime. I asked a neighbor who was about two-thirds of they way through the line how long he had been there and he said forty minutes. My wife said she waited an hour after getting there at 7:30.

 

[RU09FOOTBALL]

Election day should be a federal holiday, or on a weekend. It's bullshit that something so important is basically an inconvenience for everyone to do. I have to be at work at 8 so can't be late, and by the time I leave traffic is a nightmare. Those who have kids or other obligations are in an even bigger predicament.

Ironically, it is held on a Tuesday because it was the most convenient day for people to vote...in 1845 when it became federal law. Back then, many people were farmers and Sunday was their day of rest. They used Monday to travel to the polls and voted on Tuesday. Just imagine if people today had to travel a full day to vote.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

6:45AM no "wait" butvery, very busy. Things just move well there and machines very user friendly IMHO.

 

[Beancounter88]

2 people ahead of me and, as usual, everyone working at the polling place remembers voting for Lincoln.

 

[knightfan7]

My daughter lives and works in Philly. There's a polling location next door to her office. She said there was a very long line that went around the block around 8am.

 

[Cheesesteak Vegas]

Waited about 20 minutes this morning.

 

[Source]

Agreed that the United States as a whole has moved on from the agrarian society it used to be around 1840 when Congress made Election Day the Tuesday following the first Monday of November. They should move it to a full weekend (Saturday and Sunday) so almost anybody in society can conveniently vote. No reason to have lines of voters anywhere in America.

 

[knightfan7]

I'm going out to vote at 11.......and 12, and 1, and 2, and.......

I just need to remember to bring my list of dead Hudson County residents.:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

 

[RUgrad75]

Voted quickly in Freehold Twp on side note I use my maiden name. I said my married name corrected to maiden, even wrote married name by mistake, no one questioned and no one knew me.

So I went into the booth and yelled out eenie meeenie minnie moe twice, room erupted. When. Got out longer line and lots of high five.....this is how 63 yr old deals with the candidate choices

 

[MulletCork]

2 people ahead of me and, as usual, everyone working at the polling place remembers voting for Lincoln.

Haha, at my polling station in North Edison, all the worker's looked they were hired from the local retirement home.

I got there about 8am and it was busier than normal. Our location had 2 separate lines for 2 different districts. Naturally the lines weren't marked well and no one had a clue which one to get in.

Luckily the district I was in had short lines to sign in and to vote, although the poor lady at the desk literally was cross-eyed and struggling to find people in the register. The other district though had lines out the door. I'd estimate about 75 people there at that hour.

 

[Block R]

Election day should be a federal holiday, or on a weekend. It's bullshit that something so important is basically an inconvenience for everyone to do. I have to be at work at 8 so can't be late, and by the time I leave traffic is a nightmare. Those who have kids or other obligations are in an even bigger predicament.

In this day and age, why is there only one day to vote. Why not turn it into election weekend?

 

[shu2x79]

No wait at all at 8 am in Wayne

 

[Caliknight]

Voting should be easier to increase participation. The USA trails other countries in voter turnout and participation. Wait till tonight when people are lined up for hours. This is just sad.

Yea, because in a number of other countries, you must vote.

 

[knightinaz]

I'm going out to vote at 11.......and 12, and 1, and 2, and.......

I just need to remember to bring my list of dead Hudson County residents.:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Vote early & often

 

[RUfinal4]

Yea, because in a number of other countries, you must vote.

Blame Trenton, Albany, and Harrisburg for this since PA, NJ, and NY do not have early in person voting. NJ has no questions asked absentee balloting but you must request them over a month before the election when some people don't know they will have a tough time voting to 48-72 hours before election day.

 

[RU Golfer]

About 30 mins at 645 this morning. Part of the delay was a girl in line did not know how to use the machine and needed to be shown....so we had to wait for 2 polling workers to go into the booth and show her how to work the machine.

 

[rufanpops]

Blame Trenton, Albany, and Harrisburg for this since PA, NJ, and NY do not have early in person voting. NJ has no questions asked absentee balloting but you must request them over a month before the election when some people don't know they will have a tough time voting to 48-72 hours before election day.

Not true. New Jersey has in person, no reason required, early voting but you must go to the county clerks office during regular business hours starting 45 days before the election and ends at 3pm the day before. I voted in person at the bergen county clerks office 2 weeks ago cuz I had a day off and it was easy. The following link is to Morris county's site because its the first one I found but it is the same statewide. I've been doing it for years. You only have to request the ballot 7 days early to vote by mail, not a month, and you can always go in person to the clerks office until 3pm the day before the election.

http://www.morriscountyclerk.org/index.php/elections/

 

[RutgersUnion]

Pretty long lines at 10am on UES for the scantron but everything else was quick. Was surprised considering half of the ballot was running unopposed.

 

[RUhasarrived]

For the first time in years,I had 2 people in front of me in Harrison.Even the illegal aliens are voting this time.

 

[Vejai]

In and out in 2 Minutes at 8:45 in Randolph.

 

[rubaseball78]

Make sure you vote early and vote often.

 

[knightfan7]

Just voted here in Manasquan. 12th person in A-K line with no one on the L-Z line.

It's a conspiracy I tell you!!!!!

 

[rutger80]

Got to the elementary school where my voting precinct is here in GA at 7:30. (polls opened at 7am) Took 35 minutes. Not too bad at all. I seem to remember it taking over 2 hours when I moved here in 1984, for the presidential election that year. I think it was a punch card ballot then.

 

[Knight Shift]

Why don't they require you to bring identification to vote? Simply walk in and say I am so and so, they flip to the book and I sign. They did not even look at my signature to see if matched in the book.

 

[cubuffsdoug]

regardless of who wins I think we will see the highest voter % in the last 50-100 years. There seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for this election.

The funny thing about it is that both candidates are the most disliked ever to run for president.[roll]

 

[rurichdog]

People taking selfies in the booth with their "historic" votes. smdh

 

[RUfinal4]

Why don't they require you to bring identification to vote? Simply walk in and say I am so and so, they flip to the book and I sign. They did not even look at my signature to see if matched in the book.

IMO the situation you point out is the biggest opportunity for voter fraud. The fraudsters would need to research who is not planning on voting and send fakes in for them. It is unlikely to turn a presidential election but can play in a midterm congressional or senate election when voter absence is higher.