Early voting has started!

ICYMI, lines to vote early were long (not sure why people waited on line just to be there the first day, but maybe they just couldn’t wait) on Saturday — scouts tell me two hours for our polling place. I am sure it will be less of a time commitment later this week. UPDATE: I voted at about 4p on Wednesday and the wait was a half hour.

The quick facts:

ELECTION DAY: Tuesday, Nov. 3

EARLY VOTING DATES: now till next Sunday, Nov. 1

HOURS:
UPDATE #2: HOURS ARE EXPANDED!
Monday, Oct. 26, 7:00AM – 3:00PM
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 12:00PM – 8:00PM
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 12:00PM – 8:00PM
Thursday, Oct. 29, 10:00AM – 6:00PM
Friday, Oct. 30, 7:00AM – 3:00PM 5:00 PM
Saturday, Oct. 31, 7:00 AM 10:00AM – 4:00PM 5:00 PM
Sunday, Nov. 1, 7:00 AM 10:00AM – 4:00PM

LOCATION: The Church of St. Anthony of Padua
155 Sullivan Street at Houston

Who’s on the ballot:

  • President / Vice President (there are actually Green, Independence and Libertarian party candidates as well)
  • Congressperson (Jerry Nadler v. Cathy Bernstein and Michael Madrid)
  • State Senator (Brian Kavanagh v. Lester Chang)
  • State Assemblyperson (Deborah Glick v. Tamara Lashchyk)
  • A bunch of Civil and Supreme Court judges

See you there.

 

22 Comments

  1. We need early voting to be from October 1st through two days before Election Day in 2024. October 24 – November 1 (the week before Election Day) is a ridiculously short amount of time for EV compared to NJ whose early voting began on Saturday September 18th.

    Also we need more than one early voting site for the lower West side of Manhattan. Trinity Church couldn’t have served as a polling site? More drop boxes too.

    It is absurd that an area with literally hundreds of thousands of residents has exactly one early voting site and one ballot drop box outside of it three blocks apart.

  2. I walked by St. Anthony around 3pm today (Monday) and the voting line was orderly and well-spaced but long. People were lined up from Houston and Sullivan, down Thompson to the middle of Prince. I walked by a very few long lines on the UWS yesterday. I stood in line on voting day 2016 for 30-40 minutes, so I’m happy to see that we have so many days of early voting since 2020 voter turnout is so strong. 🇺🇸

    • I dropped my ballot at the box at 200 Varick today. It was in the first floor lobby, right inside the door – no need to get on an elevator. They must have moved the box from the10th floor.

      • They moved their entire operation to the ground floor for the past couple months. My son registered to vote on a table outside, even in the rain.

  3. The line yesterday early afternoon snaked and weaved around the blocks of northwest Soho all the way to Sixth Ave, and a volunteer said it would be at least an hour outside and another hour inside. But it moved so quickly for us (spaces between voters the whole way): around 50 minutes outside and fifteen inside, so just over an hour total. Worth every second of wait time! Plus, the atmosphere was festive—Marathon Day energy—with neighbors cheering us on as they passed and offering water and cookies.

  4. In NYC, elderly and disabled people can skip the line. At St. Anthony’s, that means walking to Houston St and looking for the elevator, which is just around the corner from the voting entrance. They will take you down, and you will be at the front of the line.

    There is someone with a microphone announcing this. They have also gone over to people who qualify and told them to go to the elevator.

    It makes voting take minutes because, even in mid-afternoon on a rainy day, the line is long.

    • Elderly people in an elevator twice during a deadly pandemic…unbelievable. Hey NYCBIE ever heard of a dropbox on the street? My brother’s town of less than 20K has one.

      Do you people have cognitive dissonance or something?

      Everything you think is cool isn’t cool at all.

      1. Early presidential election year voting should begin the first Saturday of September.

      2. Every NYC polling precinct should have a 24-7 dropbox.

      3. Every person registered to vote in New York should receive a ballot before Labor Day with Voter card & keychain tag, polling site address & at least five dropbox locations from closest to farthest.

      We’re in a pandemic thus we should all be able to drop our ballots in a dropbox at 3:43am if we want to.

  5. I was there yesterday, Tuesday afternoon at around 3 ish. The line went up past 6th ave. I was given an estimate of 4 hours wait. I got out in 3 hours. I am was very happy to vote. It was rather chaotic disorganized and it was hard with restaurants and people being in their space outside. Inside, it was rather messy disorganized. But everyone in line was pleasant and patient and easy to be around. There was much miscommunication between different polling workers among the ones outside with loud horns versus non loud horns giving opposing directions causing people confusion re directions among people waiting in line . I got screamed at by a poll worker after I happily voted, as I was given opposite directions from two other polling workers on the exit entrance and the keeping of pen. Anyway, it’s over and let’s hope for improvement next time around. It’s worth the wait to vote !!!

    • Sounds like a shitshow.

      Three hours…again NYCBOE is a joke. One early voting site with dropbox for five neighborhoods is a joke! Again my brother’s town of 20K has a 24-7 dropbox.

      I really don’t get the early voting. I requested a mail-in ballot in early September and mailed it out the last day of that month. Tracking showed me it was a valid ballot and received.

      So many people got scared by Trump slowing down the post office. Not me. I mailed my ballot. For the future request a mail-in ballot wayyy before Election Day like I did.

  6. It took me less than an hour on Wednesday. Line was around the block, but it moved pretty steadily. Lots of poll watchers, did a good job keeping people distanced.
    Things were more chaotic inside, poll watchers obviously stressed, but I was in and out in ten minutes.

    And thank you, Pam, for keeping us all so informed and even entertained this difficult year. Great work.

  7. Like Pam, I voted yesterday at 3:00. A fast 35 mins from start to finish. A lovely couple walked the length of the line multiple times offering fresh slices of pizza to those waiting. (If I hadn’t been negotiating wearing a mask, glasses, carrying my bike helmet and telephone I would have partaken). The official volunteers were great-keeping people distanced in line, crossing streets and not blocking pedestrians, and once inside it was energized and hectic but coordinated and organized. What’s a bit of time invested compared to four years

    • I agree. I voted Tuesday and it took 3 hours but the poll workers were great – and working really hard to accommodate us all … we owe them a debt of gratitude not whiney complaints!

      • Excuse me? I’m not whining. I have a right to criticize the state for their system & have said what should be done to make it better which it would be. I haven”t once got on the pollworker ok? You won’t put words in my mouth.

        We should have what New Jersey has as follows:

        – A no-excuse ballot with postage paid return envelope mailed to EVERY registered New York voter

        – A 24-7 access dropbox in every voting precinct

        – Early voting beginning the third Saturday of September through two days before Election Day.

        No one should have to spend even one hour on line to vote. Yes nice gestures by people but it should be out of genuine niceness not cuz people are on lines for hours & during a deadly pandemic.

        Sorry not sorry I think NY is far behind NJ et.al. with voting & NY should’ve done a much better job with it.

        We should have a semi-open primary like NJ has, too.

      • i was simply stating my direct experience. the goods and the not so goods where there is room for future improvement. and, it really shook me having a poll worker single me out and literally scream at me numerous times after i had cast my ballot. i had done nothing wrong. i know the stress is high working there but it was very inappropriate. in hindsight, i wonder if it was because i was wearing a biden/harris tote bag. who knows. but i have been waiting 4 long years to vote, and i am thrilled to have cast my ballot. now we all wait. fingers crossed.

  8. After attempting to go first thing yesterday at noon when they first opened for the day the estimated wait was 3-4 hours, I went back last night at 6:15 and waited only 25 minutes!

  9. Great work by the poll workers who made our experience very good indeed. The line for the elderly and those with physical issues is very well organized. Is it perfect?, maybe not, but those who volunteer their time for very little reward make the very best of it. Thanks to them. The early voting (hours have now been extended over this weekend) makes things a lot better than waiting for hours on Election Day.

  10. Early voting hours now increased to:

    Friday 10/30 – 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    Sat 10/31 – 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    Sun 11/1 – 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  11. Went to St Anthony’s this afternoon (Thu 10/29 1pm). Other than the rain (or because of it), it was a fast and easy experience. No wait. Lots of volunteers guiding us through. Bring your card with the bar code from the BOE mailer that was sent if you can to further speed it up.

  12. Similar to Kevin, I went to St Anthoy’s about an hour ago. I was prepared for a 3 hour wait, but there was no line and was waved in immediately! In and out in 10 minutes. Lots of people volunteering along the way. Great process overall.

  13. Thank you to all of you who left updates on the polling site at St. Anthony’s. I’ve been discouraged with long lines for early voting but when I read Kevin’s comment about re: Thursday, 10/29, I jumped into a Lyft ( there is a 50% off code for heading to the voting polls) at 2:00 PM this afternoon (10/29) and like what Kevin mentioned, NO LINES and NO WAIT at all! I was in-and- out about 10 minutes.

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