Long lines and some confusion on last day of on-demand voting in Bucks County

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) — Bucks County voters stood in long lines to take advantage of on-demand voting after a lawsuit forced the county to extend its mail-in voting deadline.

“I thought, ‘What a great opportunity to take advantage of this,'” said Brian Hensel, who stood in line for more than an hour at the Bucks County Administration Building in Doylestown.

Hensel said that after missing the original Oct. 29 deadline for mail-in ballots, he was happy to take care of the process before Election Day.

“We all talked about it. It’s like being at an amusement park when you meet people in line,” he said.

YOUR VOICE, YOUR VOICE | Here’s what Pennsylvania voters need to know ahead of Election Day 2024

He is one of hundreds of people in Bucks County who took advantage of the extra time to vote as requested.

This meant voters could apply for, receive, complete and return their mail-in ballots in one trip.

This is different from voting in person by car on Election Day.

“He asked, ‘Are you voting in person today?’ New Hope’s Christine Chianese said about her experience in line. “I said, ‘Yes.’ He said, “Fill it out.”

Chianese filled out the application to vote by mail while waiting in line.

This process has caused some confusion.

“I’m still going to do it,” Chianese said.

The original deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot in Pennsylvania was 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The Trump campaign later sued Bucks County, accusing officials of failing to admit voters before the deadline.

There was confusion as to whether you need to queue by 5:00 pm or whether your application needs to be processed by 5:00 pm.

A judge sided with the Trump campaign and extended the deadline in Bucks County, leading to long lines at both the county satellite centers in Levittown, Quakertown and the main office in Doylestown.

In Levittown, one man told Action News he stood in line for three to four hours, maybe longer.

“We were told it was two and a half hours from here, and it’s almost three and a half and we’re probably another hour away,” said George Schott of Yardley as he waited in line.

Bucks County Republican Committeeman Pat Poprick said the reason this satellite center had to wait so long was because of limited space and only one printer.

“These printers are special, sent by the state. They can print only one ballot at a time,” Poprik explained. “The lack of supplies and this printer is a real problem. Doylestown had two.”

Voters said they each had their own reasons for voting by mail.

“I’ve always voted on election day and I’m a firm believer in that, but this year I volunteered to watch the polls,” said Matthew Tevnan of Warrington.

“We decided to come out together and vote early,” Swati Kaushik said of herself and her family. “We were hoping it would be a smaller line, but it wasn’t.”

Opening county offices also gave mail voters a chance to resolve issues before Election Day.

Kelly Durie says she returned her ballot two weeks ago, but it was never processed.

“Both of our ballots have not yet been received, although we gave them to the person behind the glass in this building,” Durie said.

Bucks County officials said anyone in line at the end of business hours (which was 5 p.m. at the county offices in Doylestown and 4:30 p.m. at satellite offices in Levittown and Quakertown) had the opportunity to vote on demand. .

Volunteers and election officials stayed late into the evening to accommodate voters and help them through the process.

The deadline for returning a mail-in ballot is 8:00 pm on Election Day, which is Tuesday, November 5th.