Voters Turn Out, Pack Polling Sites in Bed-Stuy

At least one hundred people were lined up already by 6:00 a.m. Tuesday morning outside of P.S. 54 waiting to vote, said Lorraine Foote, the site coordinator at 195 Sanford Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

“I haven’t seen this big of a turnout since the last presidential election,” said Foote who has been working as a poll volunteer for over 25 years. “And all morning, the people just keep pouring in non-stop.”

The cold temperatures and crisp winds on Election Day didn’t appear to be affecting voter turnout at any of the polls across Bed-Stuy—a sharp contrast to the attendance of the most recent primary elections in September.

The organization and flow of the voting process also seemed to have streamlined since the September election, after which several voters complained that their names were not listed in the rolls; that the font on the ballots was too small; and that poll workers were confused.

For this election, none of that seemed to be an issue, even though the longer lines meant a much slower check-in. At P.S. 54, P.S. 3 and P.S. 256— three of more than 20 poll sites around Bed-Stuy-- would-be voters appeared upbeat, waited patiently, sipped on coffee and chatted with those around them, as the line inched closer to their check-in.

“This election is important,” said one of the voters on line at P.S. 256. “Well actually every election is important. But so much about our future is at stake with this election because the positions of the two candidates are so polarized. I’m just excited to see that the voter turnout is high.”

However, it should be noted that at all three sites, at least one of the voting scanners was inoperable, begging the question of whether the city's chosen machines are up to the job as a whole.

In fact, by 8:00 a.m. at P.S. 54, only one out of the four scanners on the floor was up-and running. Foote could offer no explanation about why they had stopped functioning beyond a frustrated shrug.

“They were broken when we opened this morning,” said Foote exasperated. “I’ve called downtown to ask for help. But in the meantime, we’re just working around it; we’re working, working, working...”