Crazy long line at the voting house at 6AM!!!

[Soror]

Dh got there at 6 when they opened and there was already a crazy long line. I'm baffled. Our state and county will undoubtedly go one direction.

Oh, no, I get it, it just occurred to me. With all the rhetoric people think there is going to be some big fraud. 

Edited November 3, 2020 by Soror

[mommyoffive]

Did you have early voting in your area?

[Carrie12345]

People were lining up at my polling place by 5:30. The line was ENORMOUS by 7, when the polls opened. Dh is down there and said it’s even longer now (getting to 9am.)
Meanwhile, people are reporting a short wait at a nearby (but different township and county) location.

ETA: We have mail-in/absentee, but no early in-person voting.

Edited November 3, 2020 by Carrie12345

[Katy]

Here too, at least according to local news. People started lining up before 5am, but polls didn’t open until 7.

[mlktwins]

I’m in Northern VA and we had early voting, which DH and I did.  Lines here are not long though.  People are saying on FB they are in and out in 10 minutes or less.

Edited November 3, 2020 by mlktwins

[Sneezyone]

9 minutes ago, mlktwins said:

I’m in Northern VA and we had early voting, which DH and I did.  Lines here are not ling thiugh.  People are saying on FB they are in and out in 10 minutes or less.

Same in Hampton Roads. Over 50% of the people in this precinct voted early.

[mom31257]

Our county's voting machines are out all over. They are having to send provisional ballots to every precinct. I did not do early voting because the lines were so long at the one location. I wasn't sure I would vote at all, but I thought maybe lines will be shorter when it is spread out to all the precincts. My ds worked early voting and the primary. He told me provisional ballots will take much longer. Yuck!! 

[regentrude]

We had an unprecedented turnout. Waited for half an hour at 6:15. I have never seen more than 3 people in line before. I was #76 at 6:45 am at my polling place in our small rural town. It looked like a lot of people showed up right at, or before, 6.

Edited November 3, 2020 by regentrude

[KungFuPanda]

I have a friend in Atlanta that waiting in line for 8 hours to vote early a few weeks ago!

I know the US has abysmally low voter participation numbers, but I always assumed the system was built to handle it if most people decided to vote. 😧

[SanDiegoMom]

I voted by drop box -- our county made it VERY easy to vote.  Everyone mailed a ballot, you can mail it back, drop it off at a drop box (they were at every library branch in the county), you could vote early at the county registrar staring October 5,  or vote early at your own precinct Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.   I used the drop box option and got a response two days later that my ballot had been received.  

[Laura Corin]

My crew voted ages ago by mail from Scotland.  I hope the post arrived!

[klmama]

I don't know what it was like when the polls first opened, but at 8:30 it was about as busy as it has been at that time of day for other presidential elections, despite half the voters having already voted early.  I expect the difference will be felt this afternoon and evening, when the lines are usually longer.

[TravelingChris]

,My dd2 and I just went at 8:30 because I have a triple skin biopsies at 10.  The line was very, very long but since I had my walker to sit while waiting ( I have very swollen legs and feet), we were directed to the front of the line after about a five minute wait.

[mom2scouts]

We went to vote today and there wasn't a single person in line in front of us! We walked in, got our ballots, voted, and were out in a few minutes. They had prepared for long lines with 6' marks and room to line up, but it wasn't necessary at all. I think we had a LOT of early voting.

[ScoutTN]

Short lines here bc early voting was packed! 

[DoraBora]

Dallas County has a website indicating with red, yellow, or green dots how busy each site is at a given time.  Some sites aren't reporting, but those seem to be the little elementary schools.  It's 9am here, and I've seen mostly green lights since the polls opened at 7.

Many (most?) counties in Texas allow you to vote anywhere in the county in which you're registered.

In July, Gov Abbott ordered early voting extended to three weeks instead of the usual two, and tons of people have already voted.

[TAFKAPastry]

Not too bad here, maybe 30-45 minute wait and steady. It was more congested when it opened and people were trying to get in before work.

[MEmama]

~2/3 of our town voted early. DS is working the polls today and said someone showed up at 6 ( they opened at 7), and by 7:30 they had cleared the line. We just dropped by and foot traffic was slow but steady, no further lines and none expected with so few eligible voters remaining. Only 20 voters are allowed inside at a time, in 2 different buildings. 
 

eta: my math is not good. 3/4 of our town voted early. 🙂 

Edited November 3, 2020 by MEmama

[Junie]

Our polling precinct had indoor and curbside options available.  I chose curbside and there was only one car in front of me.  It looked like most people were going in to vote, but I doubt that the line was very long if the parking lot was an accurate indicator.  I heard a few poll workers stating that they were near 300 voters at 11 am.

 

[Pen]

3 hours ago, Soror said:

Dh got there at 6 when they opened and there was already a crazy long line. I'm baffled. Our state and county will undoubtedly go one direction.

Oh, no, I get it, it just occurred to me. With all the rhetoric people think there is going to be some big fraud. 

 

I think even aside from fraud concerns, many people are trying to have a more reflective popular vote.

also early crazy lines sometimes reflect people trying to get done in time to go to work afterwards 

[Murphy101]

I don’t really understand your post.

Out polling place was already wrapped around the building when we got there are 6am. People around here started getting in line to vote here as early as 4:30am. In the 30 years I’ve been voting, I’ve never had to wait in line, much less a long line out the door  I’m stinkin happy dance thrilled to see so many people voting, regardless of who they vote for.  We had mail in and early voting and the lines were still this long this morning. Despite the long line, my entire household was done voting and heading out to celebrate the sweet taste of freedom with donuts by 7:45.

While most folks consider Oklahoma a deep red state - I remember Democrat house, democrat governor, & democrat mayor all at the same time not all that long ago.

[Terabith]

My friend went to her polling place this morning only to find it locked with no sign on where to go.  

[Murphy101]

12 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

I think even aside from fraud concerns, many people are trying to have a more reflective popular vote.

also early crazy lines sometimes reflect people trying to get done in time to go to work afterwards 

This too. We went early in hopes of only having to wait 2 hours or less vs the 4-5 hours many people have been waiting at later times in the day for early voting. We didn’t expect it to be better today that the last 3 days. 

[Amy in NH]

2 hours ago, mom31257 said:

Our county's voting machines are out all over. They are having to send provisional ballots to every precinct. I did not do early voting because the lines were so long at the one location. I wasn't sure I would vote at all, but I thought maybe lines will be shorter when it is spread out to all the precincts. My ds worked early voting and the primary. He told me provisional ballots will take much longer. Yuck!! 

I think this is actually a good thing.  I have much more faith in a paper ballot that was filled in directly by a voter than a machine that can be hacked during or after-the-fact.

[freesia]

2 hours ago, mom2scouts said:

We went to vote today and there wasn't a single person in line in front of us! We walked in, got our ballots, voted, and were out in a few minutes. They had prepared for long lines with 6' marks and room to line up, but it wasn't necessary at all. I think we had a LOT of early voting.

So did we.  But, on FB I hear that other voting places near us were packed at 6.  We went at 8.

[Lecka]

According to our neighborhood Facebook group, there was an hour-long wait when they opened, but then after those people went through, it has been a 10-minute wait since.  It may be longer again after work.  

[Jean in Newcastle]

Big voter turnout is good. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

2 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

My crew voted ages ago by mail from Scotland.  I hope the post arrived!

In my state you can go to a site to see if your ballot has been accepted.  I especially appreciated being able to look to see if my son's ballot, which was sent from a thousand miles away, got there.  (He asked me to look and all you see is if was accepted, not how anyone voted.)  Perhaps your crew's state has the same? 

[Acadie]

4 hours ago, Soror said:

Dh got there at 6 when they opened and there was already a crazy long line. I'm baffled. Our state and county will undoubtedly go one direction.

Oh, no, I get it, it just occurred to me. With all the rhetoric people think there is going to be some big fraud. 

I think the popular vote matters, as does the question of whether it coincides or not with the electoral college. 

[mathnerd]

I voted by drop box a couple of days ago. There were so many people walking to the City Hall to drop off their ballots. They had 2 drop boxes and both were 90% full when we dropped ours.

[Junie]

42 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Big voter turnout is good. 

Absolutely! I totally agree.

[TravelingChris]

39 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

In my state you can go to a site to see if your ballot has been accepted.  I especially appreciated being able to look to see if my son's ballot, which was sent from a thousand miles away, got there.  (He asked me to look and all you see is if was accepted, not how anyone voted.)  Perhaps your crew's state has the same? 

My state shows whether they received your absentee ballott but they start counting at 7am election day and if you messed up the absentee ballot, there are no notices and no second chances.

 

[IfIOnly]

Hope you don't mind me asking, OP. Where are you all tuning in for election results, and when can we expect results to start trickling in?

[Soror]

I went to vote at 10 and it wasn't bad. 2 in front of me in line and 4 voting in the 'boxes.' I live in a rural area.

Of course, it is good if turnout is high I just found it interesting and was speculating as to why. 

Considering the fact that elections are determined by the electoral college and just last election the one who one popular vote lost I don't see how it matters all that much. If your side wins the popular vote but loses the electoral college it is a lot of too bad. 

[athena1277]

We don’t have early voting here in AL.  My polling place is a small church.  I dreaded trying to park, besides standing in a long line.  I went late morning.  I found a place on the side of the road to park and walk. I got in line at 10:15.  The line wrapped half way around the building.  Surprisingly, the line moved fairly quickly. I was done in 30 minutes.  The poll workers were doing a good job of keeping things moving.  About 1,500 of 4,500 registered to vote at my precinct had voted by 11am.

[Katy]

3 hours ago, KungFuPanda said:

I have a friend in Atlanta that waiting in line for 8 hours to vote early a few weeks ago!

I know the US has abysmally low voter participation numbers, but I always assumed the system was built to handle it if most people decided to vote. 😧

In most years and in most places, it is. But the pandemic has meant in some areas there are fewer voting locations. 

15 minutes ago, IfIOnly said:

Hope you don't mind me asking, OP. Where are you all tuning in for election results, and when can we expect results to start trickling in?

Official results are NEVER in the same night. In past years news stations called it early because they had poll takers outside voting locations, and they can guess with the electoral college.
 

My guess is that unless it’s a landslide for Biden we won’t know for a couple of days. Especially because several scenarios involve Pennsylvania and that state has declared it won’t start counting absentee ballots until tomorrow. And even if they can guess because of polls, more Trump supporters are likely to vote in person today, so it might seem that Trump’s winning and then change when absentee ballots are counted. 

I generally flip between several stations on election night, but I tend to like ABC the best. I like George Stephanopoulis, though I’m probably spelling his name wrong. 

[Excelsior! Academy]

Our lines were so long dh had to leave and return to finish work.  He plans to return to the polling place around 3.  I hope he's able to vote!!

 

Alright, admit it.  Who's voting for Kanye?*

 

 

*Meant to be a joke.  Please don't flag or report me or turn the voting thread political.  

[cintinative]

Just injecting a little humor. News media reporting this sign at a polling location in CO.

[BusyMom5]

2 hours ago, Terabith said:

My friend went to her polling place this morning only to find it locked with no sign on where to go.  

Did she check her voter registration card?  Our polling place moved since the primary just a few months ago. 

I've never had to wait, and today was no different.   New location,  but very efficient!  In and out in 10 minutes for me,  DH and Mil!  We are rural- we just vote at a church in the middle on no where- not even a town. 

[Excelsior! Academy]

4 minutes ago, cintinative said:

Just injecting a little humor. News media reporting this sign at a polling location in CO.

It would make waiting in line a lot more interesting.  

[Excelsior! Academy]

3 minutes ago, BusyMom5 said:

Did she check her voter registration card?  Our polling place moved since the primary just a few months ago. 

I've never had to wait, and today was no different.   New location,  but very efficient!  In and out in 10 minutes for me,  DH and Mil!  We are rural- we just vote at a church in the middle on no where- not even a town. 

That was my first thought.  Ours did too.  I like our new location much better.  Dh said they often move polling places  shortly after the census.

[Carrie12345]

I posted that our line was long this morning, but I didn’t really have a time for it. Some people who were there before the polls open reported waiting 2 hours and 45 minutes. Someone who went later reported 4 hours.

For reference, that’s 2-3x the time lines were taking here in 2016, when our turnout was about 2,500 people.

[IfIOnly]

@Katy @kand Thanks for the recs. We've usually just turned on whatever pops up first on Google when searching for live results.

Yes, I understand that official results are the next day and that things could be different due to changes in voting due to COVID. Just like to check in election day as well.

I noticed when I searched "election results" that Google now has a list of swing states and when their results are expected in my time zone, although we'll see how that all actually works out. There's also a map visual for results. Both are on the search page. It's from the Associated Press.

Edited November 3, 2020 by IfIOnly

[Jean in Newcastle]

1 hour ago, Soror said:

I went to vote at 10 and it wasn't bad. 2 in front of me in line and 4 voting in the 'boxes.' I live in a rural area.

Of course, it is good if turnout is high I just found it interesting and was speculating as to why. 

Considering the fact that elections are determined by the electoral college and just last election the one who one popular vote lost I don't see how it matters all that much. If your side wins the popular vote but loses the electoral college it is a lot of too bad. 

But most electoral college voters abide by who won in their state.  So at least for those states it matters a lot to get everyone's vote to count, doesn't it? 

Plus - I don't know about where you are but there are a lot of other important things on the ballot other than just the presidency. 

[ashfern]

My daughter & I went a little before 9. We were in and out in 5 minutes with no wait at all. This is a new county for me. The guy there said that there were about 160 people who had voted at that point (polls opened at 7). My husband did early voting and there were no lines. My friends in our old county had major lines for early voting. Not sure what the lines look like today.  My son voted in Fulton County this morning. He said there were no lines at 10 but the people there said it was busy earlier. It's super important to vote in GA this year as both our Senate seats are up for election (regular & special election). I anticipate a run-off for the special election. There were about 30 names on there and I only know of the top 3.

[Terabith]

50 minutes ago, BusyMom5 said:

Did she check her voter registration card?  Our polling place moved since the primary just a few months ago. 

I've never had to wait, and today was no different.   New location,  but very efficient!  In and out in 10 minutes for me,  DH and Mil!  We are rural- we just vote at a church in the middle on no where- not even a town. 

Yes, and the county website.  A co-worker heard on the radio that the location she's supposed to vote at was closed because there weren't enough workers, but there was no note on the door or the website.  The county clerk gave me an alternate location readily, but I'm guessing a lot of people wouldn't know who to call and would give up.  

[Bootsie]

DH and I went to vote and there was no line.  I had my voter registration card all ready--which I had just received in the mail a few weeks ago because I had a new address.  The woman couldn't get the bar code on the card read, had to call over another worker, got all flustered, didn't know what to do... so that took a bit of time but there were empty booths the entire time I was there.

[Katy]

Yes, the outcome of the senate probably matters more than the Presidential race. If Trump gets re-elected but the Senate changes hands, he won’t be President for long.
 

He publicly discusses something illegal at least once a week. Most of the time he’s oblivious to things like campaign finance laws or foreign interference laws. At some point it will be egregious enough to impeach him again, and if Democrats are in control he won’t have the votes to stay in office. Not trying to be political here, just saying it’s one potential outcome. 

[elegantlion]

I voted by mail, but my boyfriend left to vote about 6:20 (polls opened at 6). He said there was much more a line than normal, but got through in a efficient manner. He said about 15-20 minutes. 

My local news is reporting 27% in person voter turnout by 11 a.m., up to 43% once absentee ballot are added in. I've never seen 43% turn out in our county before. 

[Amy Gen]

I was able to vote around 11:00 with no line at all. A poll worker told me that it had been steady that way all day, but she was curious to see what the crowd will be like when people start getting off of work.