Early Reports of Scanner Outages Slow the Voting Process; Some Lines Getting Shorter in the Afternoon
Photo by Naama Yehuda outside PS 163.
Election Day is proving somewhat chaotic on the Upper West Side, with readers reporting lots of scanner outages, meaning that the wait to vote has been long at some polling stations.
We heard from voters that all of the scanners were down temporarily at both the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew on 86th Street and West End Avenue and at PS 165 at 245 West 109th Street. Other polling sites also had long lines due to scanner outages. PS 87 on 77th Street had only one scanner working for awhile, and a polling site on 93rd Street likewise saw extensive lines. Workers were having people put their ballots in emergency ballot boxes, ostensibly to be counted later.
Poll site PS 165 – W 109th st. All 10 scanners down.
— Marta (@MStolzova) November 6, 2018
The poll workers had me put my ballot in the Emergency Ballot box below the scanner…It was almost full. PS 165 234 W 109th St Manhattan
— Marta (@MStolzova) November 6, 2018
“This is outrageous,” said Maya Lippman, who was turned away from voting at the church on 86th Street. Scanners at the church and PS 165 were eventually fixed and the lines slimmed down, and the church even gave out free baked goods.
Tight quarters at PS 87. Photo by Terena Bell.
But several people were clearly dissuaded from voting, at least temporarily. Michael Ryan, the executive director of the Board of Elections, blamed the problems in part on the rain and on an unwieldy two-page ballot. Wet clothing led to wet ballots led to scanner malfunctions.
Why so many problems voting in NYC today? Here are some explanations, from the executive director of the @BOENYC. Wet ballots. The first two page ballot (so double the chance for each voter to jam). High turnout. pic.twitter.com/62QdjsbB2A
— Lindsey Christ (@LindseyChrist) November 6, 2018
Hey @westsiderag all machines down at 102 and Manhattan, too. Just stuffing ballots in an “emergency ballot box” hole. pic.twitter.com/PaVBbUyqe6
— Benjamin Mea (@InWhichISay) November 6, 2018
Only 3 of 8 were working at 93rd between Amsterdam and Broadway as of an hour ago.
— Linda Powell (@lindapnyc) November 6, 2018
All down except 1 when I arrived @ 10:20. Workers misdirecting people didn't help either. Saw 1 homeless man denied a ballot 3 times, sent each time to diff table, one of those tables twice. I think they were trying to get more folks inside because of rain, but only created chaos
— Terena Bell (@TerenaBell) November 6, 2018
All scanners were working on the UWS (PS163) though indeed lines were LONG: First ~40 min in the rain (see photo), then lines to fill ballots & more lines (~20 min?) to scan filled ballots in. Place was PACKED to the gills but crowd moved well & poll workers were great. #NYCvotes pic.twitter.com/Thwd3JBrQW
— Naama Yehuda (@NaamaYehuda) 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
New York is one of the few states that still doesn’t allow early voting.
New York disgraceful election system is official voter suppression. No early voting, same day registration. If you work early/stay late, you cannot get to your assigned poll in time – and you cannot vote. The voter suppression system is deliberate because:
De Blasio was voted in by 8.5% of eligible voters.
@Ocasio2018 was voted in by 2.7% of eligible voters.
Let that sink in.
I don’t agree with your belief about intentional voter suppression, and in no way minimize the impact that the BOE’s abysmal performance has on voting, but NYS law does require that employers allow employees to take off working time to enable them to vote if the polls aren’t open for four hours before or after the employee’s shift, and up to two hours of that leave must be paid. E.g., if your hours are 9:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m., you’re entitled to the leave because the polls aren’t open at 5:30 a.m. or 10:00 p.m. So working hours shouldn’t be an impediment to voting. I suspect that many people are unaware of this law, and while employers are required to post the text of the law, I doubt that many advertise or encourage it.
Now that the NYS Senate has a Democrat majority, perhaps voting law reform will become a reality.
If those numbers make you mad, you’d be even more angry with the results of adding early voting and same-day registration, which facilitate voting for populations that primarily vote Democratic.
But, by all means, Republicans, keep complaining about voter suppression, keep the issue before the public!
Re: “New York is one of the few states that still doesn’t allow early voting.”
Am skeptical about BOTH early AND absentee ballots for one simple reason: WHEN are those votes COUNTED:
1) Before election day?; or
2) after election day?
AND, are the early and absentee” totals” actually included in the evening results reported to B.o.E. and then to the media or are they HELD ASIDE in the event of a contested election?
Much more reassuring to see a FUNCTIONING SCANNER display the message “Your Vote Has Been Entered”.
Bring back the old voting machines!
Amen.
At BJ on 89th Street, for the better part of an hour (from at least 7:45AM) there were only two out of three scanners working. People seemed pretty patient. Scaffolding in front of the building both obscured the entrance but also provided a protective overhang against the elements.
I voted at Laguardia HS (65th + Amsterdam) before 8am and there were no scanner issues. Some confusion in the lines once more people started to show up but overall was a calm and easy process. Thank you to everyone sticking it out in long lines!!
At 5:00 pm approximately, there was no line and all scanners seemed to be working at PS 87 on 77 St. So if you were hesitating, come out and vote.
Smooth as silk at Goddard Riverside @ 11 am.
I went at 6:00 AM to UWS on 109th. Always feel like its so disorganized. It feels like the “voting” spaces are made of flimsy cardboard, and the scanners remind me of machines from the 1950’s that are still connected to “UNIVAC”. Really NEW YORK, we need some major changes in the way people vote. Early voting would be a start
PS 163: That line translated to 30 minutes outside and 15 minutes inside. Happy to exercise my privilege and duty every other year even in the rain!
government in action. Ironically, most of these people will still vote big government into office and ignore the irony
P.S. 811 (82nd/WEA) was a disorganized mess. Way too many people in a small space, lots of pushing and yelling, and none of the poll workers seemed to know how to keep the lines organized. Waited in a “ballot scanning” line for about 20 minutes only to be told that that was no longer a line, and directed to the back of ANOTHER line, for an additional 20+ minutes, before finally reaching a scanner.
On 93rd street it is currently taking well over an hour to vote. The line inside for the scanners circles around the room then goes down an extremely long hall, practically a block, and then doubles back down the same hall.
Ballot “complicated” with two sides, 4 pages. They also hung up the sample ballot too high to read. When I mentioned it they did not seem to care. They said if I do understand the ballot (once start to vote) to let them know. This slows things down because reading ballot beforehand would be very helpful. This voting place
services a good amount of elderly/disabled voters.
I voted at Rutgers Church.
There were no technical problems but the space is really small and the staff sat passively without helping guide people through the process.
They need to find better people for these jobs.
Global Election Services is a company that has developed a proprietary software system utilizing blockchain technology for elections specifically. Third World countries have implemented such blockchain technology during their elections and have had smoother operations! Someone at the Board of Elections needs to investigate.
Interesting:
Wait in line for hours/days for Springsteen tix, for the mall to open on Black Friday, at Apple stores for the newest phone. 15 minutes to vote? Too long?
Why is it that you can buy Springsteen tickets on the Ticketmaster app, buy Black Friday deals from your computer on Thursday or order a new iPhone via a h number of devices in 2 clicks, all while ordering a 5 course meal, having your groceries delivered and applying for a job at the same time .
But you can’t make the easiest and most important choice on your electronic device- voting.
Let’s get with the times!!!
I have experienced errors in my online grocery order. I wouldn’t want that to happen with my vote.
I stopped ordering groceries online. That shouldn’t happen with my voting.