I documented this for my own satisfaction but thought it interesting enough to share, if only for the record. This is the first time New York has done early voting, and from the turnout today and yesterday it’s hard to imagine what the official election day would look like without it. Lines would stretch into eternity. It also makes me suspect this is going to be a tighter race than polls seem to predict.
When I first spotted this I thought it was people waiting to get free food at one of the food pantries. I’ve seen plenty of those kind of lines since the pandemic started. No, it’s voters waiting to cast ballots at the Kaufmann Astoria Studios.
This line started about mid-block on 35th Street, turned onto 34th Avenue, then went two short blocks to 37th Street, then one full long block all the way to 35th Avenue.
I wouldn’t mind waiting on line to vote but with the sight of this I feel fortunate to have chosen voting by mail. I just got my ballot yesterday.
