WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES OCTOBER 29, 2020 15
early to cast ballots in Queens
election day,” Stevens said. “We wanted to get it
over with but we did not expect these lines.”
The family arrived at Queens College at 11:15
a.m., on Sunday, Oct. 25. It wasn’t until 2:45 p.m.,
that they had cast their ballot.
Wait times at early voting sites across Queens
were similar both days of the weekend. On Saturday,
Oct. 24, approximately 19,200 Queens
residents cast a ballot. The next day, a little over
21,000 voters went to the polls early.
“It was fun to do, but the wait wasn’t that fun,”
said Haram Asim, a voter at Queens College who
was casting her ballot for the first time. “The
wait was about three hours. I didn’t expect to be
waiting that long. I thought early voting meant
quicker voting.”
Though the lines were long, many voters felt
voting in-person at an early voting site was worth
the wait. Some voters shared doubts about the
security of voting by mail – a concern that has
largely been unfounded – while others felt that
in a year marred by COVID-19, a disease that has
caused one of the largest mass death event in U.S.
history, long lines were nothing to be frustrated
by.
“I personally think the whole coronavirus situation
has made people a bit more tolerant,” said
Ira Obusan, who was voting with his family at
LaGuardia Community College.
Obusan also expressed his worry that President
Donald Trump won’t accept the results of the election
if he loses, a statement the president himself
has confirmed multiple times.
“Unfortunately, with the way a certain party
Haram Asim, a voter at Queens College, cast
her ballot for the fi rst time.
member is pitching that it’s going to be a fraudulent
result, I wanted to make sure there was no
wiggle room out so to speak,” Obusan said.
Early voting in Queens continues through Sunday,
Nov. 1. Voters must cast their ballots at their
designated early voting site, which can be found
on the city’s Board of Elections website.
Additional reporting by Dean Moses.
/WWW.QNS.COM
