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Long lines for ballots seen in Levittown and Bucks County with on-demand voting

Posted on by L. Dreeye
Long lines for ballots seen in Levittown and Bucks County with on-demand voting

(This story has been updated to accurately reflect the latest information.)

The final day of polling in Bucks County, which was extended by two days after the Trump campaign’s lawsuit alleged that “our voters were denied,” was marked by long lines, confusion and frustration.

Voters were still waiting to cast their ballots on demand at 5pm Friday, although the line for new voters was closed. Many showed up to the county building in Doylestown and satellite government offices in Levittown and Quakertown to “vote early” but were instead greeted by a lengthy on-demand voting process.

Pennsylvania, unlike other states, does not have early voting, in which you vote the same way you would go to the polls on Election Day, even though presidential campaigns on both sides are urging voters to make their choice by Tuesday in this critical swing state. state.

Voting on Demand, which is essentially filling out a mail-in ballot in one step that involves applying, receiving, filling out, and in some cases returning the ballot to a government office, has been a lengthy process for Bucks County voters . this election cycle.

Friday was no exception.

Long lines to vote at Levittown office

In Levittown, voters reported waiting in line for up to six hours to cast their ballots.

Amid voter frustration that the tedious process was caused by government incompetence, county officials were prepared to announce that anyone arriving after 4:30 p.m. would not be able to vote. The announcement was made in accordance with a court order earlier this week, which said voting would close at the end of the day, which is 4:30 p.m., at the county satellite office on New Falls Road and another office in Quakertown. The office closed at 5 p.m. in Doylestown.

“I waited here for four hours and crawled 50 feet. How much longer? said Rick Wilson, 75, of Lower Makefield, who was a little more than halfway to the ballot-filling site.

“Complete incompetence,” he said.

Folding chairs were set up for older voters, and the Republican team set up a tent for anyone needing cold water. The Trump campaign was said to have ordered pizza for those who waited until the evening.

Most people said it was their first time voting with on-demand ballots, like Denise Somers of Fairless Hills.

“I figured it would take two or three hours at most,” she said. “I’ve been here for four hours and forty minutes.”

Voters said they were unclear about the process from applying to voting to voting, and others mistakenly believed they were voting early at the polling place using the machines they use on Election Day.

County officials warned of a process that could take up to 15 minutes per voter due to limited equipment, a state-approved secure ballot printer and a limited number of staff specifically trained to process ballots. A county spokesman was not immediately available Friday evening.

The lines last week and earlier this week led to a lawsuit by the Trump campaign, which alleged voters were turned away before the Oct. 29 deadline for on-demand voting. A judge has ordered voting to resume until Friday in Bucks County.

Returning Friday, some decided to bail and vote Tuesday in the presidential race between former GOP President Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who are virtually tied in the latest polls in Pennsylvania, which has 19 electoral votes and is considered a state that must be defeated on the way to the White House.

“We’re talking about a three-hour wait,” 71-year-old county employee Dan Dunham of Fairless Hills, who arrived in a wheelchair, said. He says he has multiple sclerosis and had eight seizures ten years ago.

“In my condition, I can’t wait here for three hours, I can’t stand it,” he said before leaving.

Even the wife of former Republican Pennsylvania Gov. Jim Cawley had to wait.

“I got here at 8:25 this morning, so I waited six hours,” Suzanne Cawley said after the successful vote. “The whole system went down for an hour,” she said, extending the wait.

Bucks County Republican Party Chairman Pat Poprick arrived late in the evening and assured people that the main problem was the single printer. “If we had two or three more people, things would go faster,” she said.

She said four clerks were processing ballot applications and printing secure ballots as quickly as possible. Mike Bannon of Bucks County Consumer Protection moved through the crowd as an informal goodwill ambassador, calming irritated voters.

“I wish it was a better system,” he said.

Anna Tiberi of Levittown didn’t blame county employees, but she was puzzled by how they could have messed up so badly. She filled out the mail-in application a week ago but did not receive it in the mail.

“They told me they would mail my ballot today, but I just didn’t think it would arrive on time,” she said. She filled out a special form and was sent to a faster line to vote.

“They probably need more workers,” she said. “It’s not the employees’ fault, it’s the government’s fault. They’ve known since COVID that this is how a lot of people vote. Why weren’t they ready?

Another problem was the Trump campaign’s urgent text messages, calls and emails on Thursday and Friday to Bucks County Republicans asking them to take advantage of a court order to extend voting by request. That sparked a crowd of people at all three county offices asking for mail-in ballots.

“I don’t think the county was expecting this many people,” Poprick said.

Peter Navarro and representatives of Elon Musk appeared in Levittown

As lines in Bucks County continue to make national news, activists on social media are urging people outside the county to come support voters online.

On Friday evening, former Trump adviser Peter Navarro greeted voters standing in line for on-demand voting at the Government Services Center in Levittown. Navarro arrived with Elon Musk’s representatives to talk to people about the hours-long wait to vote in Bucks County.

Navarro spent four months in federal prison for refusing to cooperate with the Congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to the Associated Press. He campaigned for the former president.