Election Day dawned Tuesday with thousands of New York City polling sites open for residents to cast their ballots in the critical presidential race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, along with important down-ballot races.
The polls are open until 9 p.m. After 1 million votes were cast during early voting in the Big Apple, the city’s Board of Elections anticipates long lines at polling sites Tuesday. If you are on line at your polling site at closing time, do not leave — you will get a chance to vote.
New York has 26 electoral votes up for grabs. Harris is favored to win the Empire State, as no Republican has carried New York since Ronald Reagan in 1984.
New Yorkers will also vote in similarly impactful local elections for Senate, House, State Senate, State Assembly and Supreme Court and Civil Court judges. Voters will also answer six state and local ballot questions.
As of 9 a.m. Nov. 5, the city’s Board of Elections reported 264,738 Election Day voter check-ins citywide. There were 1,089,328 check-ins logged during the nine-day early voting period between Oct. 26 and Nov. 3.
Turnout has been steady and strong thus far around the five boroughs, though there are sporadic reports of voting issues at some locations — including in Queens, where some ballot scanners were reportedly malfunctioning.
At the Fashion Institute of Technology polling site in Manhattan, voters reported issues logging in with the BOE’s iPad devices to verify their identities. As a result, some voters were forced to fill out an affidavit ballot.
Not surprisingly, the presidential race between Harris and Trump was foremost on the minds of voters like Remy Toledo of Manhattan, who spoke about his concerns that Trump, if re-elected, would rule as a dictator and not as a traditional American president.
“I feel like our nation, democracy is under threat,” said Toledo, a native of Colombia but now an American citizen. “I think having a dictator in power is not what America is about.”
Other voters at the FIT site, like Brian Gordon, expressed appreciation for the power to vote and express his stances at the ballot box.
“My stance is that I respect the entire process. We’re very lucky to have the opportunity to vote as opposed to some other places around the world,” Gordon said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James spearheaded efforts this year to combat misinformation that intentionally or unintentionally disrupts the voting process. They also reminded New Yorkers of their rights when casting their ballots in person.
Under state and federal law, it is illegal for anyone to intimidate, threaten or coerce voters in an attempt to disrupt their right to vote, the attorney general’s office said.
Registered voters in all five boroughs can find their designated polling station on the city’s Board of Elections website at vote.nyc.
According to the city’s Board of Elections, a bipartisan team of poll workers can help voters who need assistance. Interpreters will be available when required for Spanish, Chinese-Mandarin, Chinese-Cantonese, Korean, and Bengali, the board explains on its website, vote.nyc.
Throughout Tuesday, amNewYork Metro will be at polling sites across the city, gathering comments from voters and gauging turnout. Check back later for updates, and unofficial election results as they come in after 9 p.m. tonight.
