Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasts long lines at NYC polling stations as 'voter suppression' and waits TWO HOURS to cast her vote in the Bronx
Bronx Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized long lines she found while visiting a polling site in the borough on Sunday morning to cast her own vote.
Voters had been waiting in line for several hours when the congresswoman showed up.
'There is no place in the United States of America where two-, three-, four-hour waits to vote is acceptable,' the Democrat said outside the site in Parkchester.
'And just because it's happening in a blue state, doesn't mean that it's not voter suppression. If we are waiting three hours, four hours, five hours, if this was happening in a swing state, there would be national coverage.'
'Frankly, this also shows the success of early voting as well,' Ocasio-Cortez said. 'I will wait two hours just like my neighbors are.'
Currently there are 88 polling sites open around the Big Apple with many locations reporting lines stretching around the block as people queued early to cast their ballots since early voting began on Saturday.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pictured emerging from the privacy booth with her filled out ballot on Sunday at an early voting station in The Bronx, New York City
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez submits her ballot after participating in early voting at a polling station in The Bronx
'And just because it is happening in a blue state doesn't mean it isn't voter suppression,' Ocasio-Cortez said. 'There is very clearly a problem. There is a lot of work to be done.
'But that being said, I am thrilled to see how many people who are overcoming this injustice. We are going to overcome this hurdle, so that we can elect the folks that make sure this is not a problem in the future,' the Representative said.
On Saturday almost 94,000 New Yorkers voted: 29,411 in Brooklyn; 19,877 in Manhattan; 19,223 in Queens; 14,928 in the Bronx; and 10,391 on Staten Island, according to the Board of Elections.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stands in line with her partner and dog. She is said to have waited in line for two hours
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez uses her cellphone as she waits in line to vote early at a polling station in The Bronx
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, right, stands in line with her partner Riley Roberts and her French Bulldog named Deco as she waits to vote early in Parkchester
Ocasio-Cortez is assisted as she arrived early on Sunday to vote early at a polling station
Members of the media watch on as Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez participates in early voting at a polling station in The Bronx, New York City, U.S., October 25, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
People stand in a long line wrap around the block to cast their vote at the voting site located at Madison Square Garden during early voting
Due to the coronavirus and social distancing concerns New York State is allowing early voting for the first time
On Saturday, people were pictured waiting in line to vote early on the Upper West Side of NYC
At the 75th St polling site, the line for early voting goes twice around the block. This video took 6 minutes to film. This four hour wait absolutely should not be necessary in our democracy, but we applaud the intrepid UES voters braving the line nonetheless. pic.twitter.com/q2m9iRZJkV
— Four Freedoms Dems (@FourFreedomsNYC) October 25, 2020
At the 75th St polling site, the line for early voting goes twice around the block. This video took 6 minutes to film. This four hour wait absolutely should not be necessary in our democracy, but we applaud the intrepid UES voters braving the line nonetheless. pic.twitter.com/q2m9iRZJkV
The figure was almost double the total amount who took part in the nine days voting was allowed during the primaries in June.
Some waiting said lines were so long Saturday they decided to come out on day two as early as 6:30am to wait until the site opened at 10am according to ABC7.
Many New Yorkers said they were voting early because they feared fraud or didn't trust the post office to handle absentee ballots.
The 2020 election could have the highest voter turnout in more than a century with an estimated 150million Americans predicted to cast their vote for the next president – the highest turnout since 1908.
Tens of thousands of people lined up to vote early at polling sites across New York.
Lines went around the block, sometimes several times including at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the Upper West Side.
Some voters at West Side High School in Manhattan on West 102nd Street were in line for four hours before they were able to cast their ballots according to Gothamist.
I just walked the line of people who are early voting in NYC, it’s crazy! 5 blocks long #vote @ABC7NY pic.twitter.com/YEuFp3PQeX
— Dan Krauth (@DanKrauthABC7) October 25, 2020
I just walked the line of people who are early voting in NYC, it’s crazy! 5 blocks long #vote @ABC7NY pic.twitter.com/YEuFp3PQeX
Ocasio-Cortez expressed how 'emotional' it is to vote and a 'privilege every single time.'
She also made it clear that waiting in line for longer than two hours was not acceptable and a form of voter suppression
People stand in line for early voting at The Brooklyn Museum in Brooklyn, New York
On Saturday almost 94,000 New Yorkers voted. Voters in Brooklyn are pictured
So far more than 58million Americans have already cast their ballots as of Sunday, with just nine days to go before November 3, according to the US Elections Project, with the most votes cast in Texas, California and Florida
So far more than 58million Americans have already cast their ballots as of Sunday, with just nine days to go before November 3.
University of Florida professor Michael McDonald, who administers the US Elections Project, predicts a record turnout of 150 million citizens voting in the election, representing about 65 percent of eligible voters.
This year's high stakes race between Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden is projected to eclipse the voter turnout of 2016, when approximately 137million people voted.
Despite challenges posed by the coronavirus crisis, swathes of Americans have headed to the polls and waited in long lines for early voting or mailed in their ballots.
According to the US Elections Project the most votes have been cast in Texas followed by California and Florida so far and across the nation more than 39million mail ballots have been filed and more than 18.9million in-person votes have been cast.
People wait in a line to vote at the Queens Public Library in the Jackson Heights neighborhood
Voters are pictured standing in line in front of The Brooklyn Museum