Last weekend (Oct. 24-25) kicked off New York’s first ever opportunity for early voting in a Presidential Election, and New Yorkers took full advantage.
According to NYC Board of Elections, the cumulative total of votes cast over the nine days of Early Voting was 1,119,056!
Saturday, October 24th marked the first official day of early voting in New York State, and Sunday, November 1 marked the last before Election Day on Tuesday. Over one million New Yorkers stood in line, some for over four hours, to cast their votes.
With 16 different early polling sites across Manhattan, 17 in the Bronx, 27 across Brooklyn, 18 in Queens, and 10 throughout Staten Island, New Yorkers definitely showed dedication to their civic duty.
Wowow, New York City turning out for the first day of #EarlyVoting. This is just *part* of the line outside MSG, wrapping around several blocks. pic.twitter.com/D8wyDULEPT
— Mariya Abedi (@msabedi) October 24, 2020
And the high turnout continued throughout the week.
You can see the cumulative results on the NYC Board of Elections website day-by-day this week, broken down by borough. Here’s a snapshot:
October 24, 2020 – Day 1: 93,830
October 25, 2020 – Day 2: 100,085
October 26, 2020 – Day 3: 120,808
October 27, 2020 – Day 4: 143,012
October 28, 2020 – Day 5: 137,016
October 29, 2020 – Day 6: 107,657
October 30, 2020 – Day 7: 137,467
October 31, 2020 – Day 8: 137,888
November 1, 2020 – Day 9: 141,293
Voters waited eagerly in line, some hours before the stations even opened. Upon waiting to cast their vote, one New Yorker told NBC “it’s important to get out here and do this, no matter how long it takes.” The polls opened at 10 a.m. and the line was cut off after 4 p.m.
Lines all across the city wrapped around the blocks as some New Yorkers went as early as 6 a.m. to ensure their spot in line. Voters had to wear masks, maintain six feet for social distance, and had the option to bring their Fast Pass for contactless check-in.
Across the entire state of the New York, there were over three million votes cast during early voting, according to ABC7.
featured image source: Shutterstock