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On the last day of early voting in Pennsylvania, voters in Bucks County are facing long lines

Posted on by Nargang
On the last day of early voting in Pennsylvania, voters in Bucks County are facing long lines

On the last day of early in-person voting in Pennsylvania, some are making allegations of voter suppression in Bucks County.

Bucks County and Washington Republicans are expressing concern about how Pennsylvania officials have handled the on-demand mail-in ballot situation.

The Republican National Committee sent a letter to Commonwealth Secretary Al Schmidt saying there are “numerous reports from voters” that polls are closing early and no longer accepting voters, and that mail-in ballots will not be counted.

A line outside the Bucks County Administration Building wrapped around the block the period to request a mail-in ballot in Pennsylvania was ticked Tuesday.

“This is only the second presidential election we’ve had with this system in place,” said Bucks County Commissioner and Board of Elections Chairman Bob Harvie, referring to the mail-in ballot.

The lines are long, he says, because it takes an average of 10 to 12 minutes to process each application.

“It’s a very cumbersome process. We don’t have unlimited resources here. We have a fixed number of staff. We have a fixed budget,” Harvie said.

The Bucks County Board of Elections, however, says officials had to cut the line at some point, as opposed to Election Day.

“Last week, the State Department asked counties to plan to ensure that every registered voter who was in line by 5:00 p.m. today has the opportunity to apply and submit a vote-by-mail application,” said Schmidt.

That’s what the Bucks County Board of Elections says was done.

A county spokesman said the line was down around 2:45 p.m. Postal vote applications were still being accepted until 5:00 p.m.

“Our staff has to be able to process all these requests and they have to be able to do that on top of the rest of their work, especially today because it’s the deadline. We have to upload everything by midnight,” Harvie said.

Voters in Doylestown said they waited more than three hours to get through the line.

“It’s too long. There’s got to be an easier way. There’s got to be more places for people to go,” said Robin Peterson, of Chalfont.

“I like it better than dropping it in the mail or putting it in a drop box,” said Ralph Borzillo, of Warrington.

“I feel like it’s the safest way to do it,” said Barbara Graham, of Pipersville. “They will know who I am and that I voted and no one can vote for me.”

Some voters already tried to vote this way last week and returned on Tuesday to try again.

“There were 300 people in front of us so they told us we couldn’t vote because it was almost closing time,” said Anne Thenin, of Doylestown.

On election day, those in line before the polls closed, at The Bucks County Board of Elections says they will be able to vote regardless.

Former President Donald Trump’s national press secretary Caroline Leavitt posted on X saying: “You have the right to stand in line when you cast your vote!”

Trump’s political director James Blair posted a similar message on X.