Broken Machines, Two-Hour Lines Setback Voting in Greenpoint

View this post on Instagram

2PM election day #Greenpoint polling site @ 424 Leonard. Two hour wait, only two machines running and still a long line of voters willing to stand on line and exercise their right to vote. Open until 9PM. Incredibly proud to be part of this community and proud to be American!! #givethanksgreenpoint #greenpointers #greenpointbrooklyn #democracy #electionday2018 #thisisdemocracy

A post shared by greenpointers (@greenpointers) on Nov 6, 2018 at 11:21am PST

As a wave of eager voters arrived at their poll sites across New York City today, tens of thousands of Brooklynites faced extended lines with wait times over two-hours due to malfunctioning ballot scanners. The resiliency of NYC voters was on full display as they waited through the chaos, likely wondering why New York doesn’t have early voting.

The line at John Ericsson Middle School 126 (424 Leonard St.) in Greenpoint wrapped down the hall outside of the voting room and the wait time was over two hours at 2 p.m., after four out of six ballot scanners stopped working.

https://twitter.com/meghanoverdeep/status/1059875860646412288

At Saint Cecilia’s (84 Herbert St.) only one scanner was working and voters waited up to four hours to cast ballots.

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

An emergency ballot box was utilized at the Central Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza after all of the ballot scanners went down.

Every scanner is broken at the Brooklyn Public Library so we’re now using the emergency ballot box. People have been waiting hours apparently. pic.twitter.com/aB6giKEMIQ

— David Weiner (@daweiner) November 6, 2018

Every machine was reported down at PS 8 in Brooklyn Heights.

It’s been a long wait to vote all around Brooklyn thanks to broken scanning machines like this one as PS 8. All 4 here were broken much of the morning. “Chaos” an official tells me, after it took well over an hour to fix. #Vote2018 @NBCNewYork pic.twitter.com/LaLrduB6qO

— John Chandler (@JohnChandlerNBC) November 6, 2018

At Cornerstone Senior Housing’s poll site (550 Greene Ave.) two out of three scanners malfuntioned.

@BOENYC just came from voting at Cornerstone Sr Hsng
550 Greene Avenue in Brooklyn and there is only 1 scanner working of the 3 and it's very hot in there. This site needs to change. The same voting staff has been working there for years and they are rude.

— Kevin Isaac (@KingChaos80) November 6, 2018

New York Attorney General Babra Underwood’s office continues to be inundated with complaints to its election day hotline (1-800-771-7755).

https://twitter.com/NewYorkStateAG/status/1059855970040512520