4 NOVEMBER 5, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
No lines, long lines and party lines: Queens voters cast their ballots
Mayor Bill de Blasio visits J.H.S. 226 in South Ozone Park on Election Day. Photo by Dean Moses
looked up my early polling site, but the
lines were so long that I couldn’t stay, so
I decided to come today and brought a
chair. Just in case. The line wasn’t long
because it moved fast.”
Ian Rees, a voter in Forest Hills, was
in and out of his polling site at P.S.196
in minutes.
“I left my apartment at 11:30 a.m. and
was back home right around noon,”
Rees said, adding that he was glad to
both vote in what he feels is an important
election and to have gotten a new
sticker for his laptop.
In Astoria, voter Maria Victoria
Salazar found that her polling site at P.S.
166, where she has voted for the past 10
years, was quieter than past elections.
“Last presidential election, I waited
on line for about 30 mins or so,” Salazar
said. “This time, there was no line at all
and it took me perhaps two minutes to
get my ballot and another three minutes
or so to vote and put my ballot through
the machine.”
In addition to the presidential race,
the Queens borough president race and
a slew of other local races, the future of
the Working Families Party is also on
the ballot this year.
A new state law requires independent
parties receive 2 percent of the
vote in order to have a ballot line in the
following election.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who
voted early, was at Queen of Angel’s
Parish Center to encourage his neighbors
to vote on the Working Families
Party line.
“It’s incredibly important, not only
for people to vote, but as you know,
we are out here encouraging people
to vote on the Working Families Party
line because this is an area that will
overwhelmingly support Biden over
Trump,” Van Bramer said. “The Working
Families Party is the progressive
party in New York state and they need
to collect a certain amount of votes
on this line, so it is really important
because many of the voters on the line
are Democrats and progressives and
will want to both vote Biden/Harris
but also support the Working Families
Party line.”
Voter Julia Forman agreed with the
councilman.
“For me it’s important to be out for the
Working Families Party. It’s the line that
I’ve always voted on because I know it
sends that message up to Albany that
we need to keep fi ghting for the policies
that actually matter to people,” Forman
said. “If I’m going to be out for anyone,
obviously I’m out for Biden, but I want it
to be under Working Families Party.”
THE MAYOR COMES TO
QUEENS
Mayor Bill de Blasio stopped by a
South Ozone Park polling site Tuesday
aft ernoon to meet voters and poll workers.
Handing out donuts, de Blasio said
the polling site at J.H.S. 266 was a shining
example for the rest of the city.
“This is a good example, what we
are seeing here at this poll site. A lot
of energy, a lot of activity,” hizzoner
said. “It’s also further proof that early
voting, just as we hoped, has taken a lot
of pressure off Election Day. It’s made
Election Day go more smoothly. This
is really good to see, even though we
know there is an evening rush coming.
What we are seeing today is very, very
encouraging.”
The mayor also took time to remind
voters that as long as they are in line by
9 p.m., when the polls close, they can
still cast their ballots.
“Anyone in line, they have to accommodate,
if you are in line by 9 p.m. no
matter how long it goes,” he said.
BY JACOB KAYE AND DEAN MOSES
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Some polling places across Queens
on Tuesday morning, Nov. 3, appeared
to be in strong contrast to
the lines seen throughout the nine days
of early voting.
At P.S. 150 in Sunnyside, there wasn’t
much of a wait to cast a ballot. With a
small line forming occasionally outside,
voters assigned to the polling place
made their way in and out with little
time wasted.
One resident said she had attempted
to vote during the early voting period
but was deterred by the long lines and
gloomy weather.
“I went to the early voting at LaGuardia
Community College, the line was
horrendous, it was raining, so I stood
there like an hour and I said, you know
what, this is better for me,” said Carmen
Giocuria, who was casting her vote in
person on Tuesday. “I live across the
street. I changed my mind. I thought
I would hit two birds with one stone
when I went to the gym and then to go
vote, but the line was horrendous last
Tuesday.”
It took Giocuria 10 minutes to cast her
vote on Nov. 3.
Just down the block, at Queen of Angel’s
Parish Center in Sunnyside, the
lines were a little longer.
Voters waited up to 40 minutes to
cast their ballots, including Clara Demedinaceli,
who brought a chair to the
polling site.
“I did get the mail-in ballot. I didn’t
send it in though,” Demedinaceli said. “I
all they’ve sacrificed to protect our freedom
Happy Veterans Day
CONGRESSWOMAN
GRACE MENG
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