Long lines were expected at polling places in Sandy-torn areas of New York City and the Jersey Shore. But the surprise this year has been long lines across the country.
Politico reported that in Miami, Fla., some voters reported waiting up to 7 hours to cast their ballots.
In Pennsylvania, some voters in Allegheny and Fayette counties said they were stopped and directed away from polling places where they were registered, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
In parts of New Jersey affected by Superstorm Sandy, state officials decided to extend the deadline for submitting ballots electronically or by fax until Friday because of difficulties in using the system, CNN reported.
Long lines were reported across Maryland, according to The Baltimore Sun, because of a controversial referendums on gambling and gay marriage.
There even were long lines in Syracuse, at a polling place at Bird Library, on the Syracuse University campus.
Poll watcher John Rosser, of Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle’s campaign, said there were many reasons for the hour delays to vote Tuesday afternoon. The main reason stemmed from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s decision to allow any New Yorker displaced by Superstorm Sandy to vote by affidavit ballot in this election.
Many SU students from New York City and Long Island — where a significant percentage of SU students hail from anyway — used the opportunity to vote in Onondaga County today, even though they weren’t previously registered here.
The process of explaining how students needed to fill out the affidavit ballot is time consuming and taking time away from poll workers signing in voters and handing out regular ballots, Rosser said.
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