Unopen Polling Sites, Long Lines In North Jersey On Election Day

NEWARK, NJ - While the state is primarily running the general election via mail and drop boxes this year due to the ongoing pandemic, lines of in-person voters popped up around North Jersey and elsewhere early Tuesday morning.

Videos on social media captured long lines at polling stations, with some voters reporting delayed openings at certain polling stations. In New Jersey, polling locations are scheduled to be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.

News 12 New Jersey reported that voters at Greater Abyssinian Baptist Church in Newark were unable to enter the site until around 6:35 a.m., a half-hour after the poll location was scheduled to open:

The 345 Broadway site was not open as of approximately 7:10 a.m., with witnesses reporting many people waiting outside in the cold. At around 7:18 a.m., at least two voters reported that the Rafael Hernandez Elementary School was still not open in Essex County for polling, and 69 Vessey St. was reportedly not open as of 7:49 a.m., nearly two hours after the location was slated to open.

Witnesses said lines formed, people were leaving and there was no signage indicating that the facility was a polling place.

A line also reportedly formed outside Malcolm X Shabazz High School this morning, with at least one eyewitness saying the poll workers did not have the key to the building.

At West Side High School, one voter reported voter intimidation, claiming they were not allowed to certify their ballot because a poll worker could not "guarantee" the candidates the voter chose.

A roving poll worker said Tuesday that the 8 Hawkins St. location opened nearly an hour late without any identifying signage. When the location did reopen, workers only let one person into the building at a time to cast their vote.

At First Avenue Elementary School, a poll worker reported two signs in the vicinity of the polling site: one sign that read "Vote Line A" and another reading "Democrat". He also reported a man trying to intimidate those speaking Spanish.

In Paterson, a witness said that he and 16 others were informed that there were no ballots available at the 851 E 28th Street location. A crowd was told to wait as the ballots were to be transported from Trenton, or 45 to 60 minutes away.

In South Orange, one individual said poll workers are requiring IDs for all voters - not just first-timers - at the First Presbyterian Church site.

In Linden, a woman reported (on behalf of her sister) voter intimidation and closed polls, claiming that workers were requiring paper ballots with social security numbers.

At Roy W. Brown Middle School in Bergenfield, a voter said that only one ballot box was available and, due to a disability, was not able to use the ballot box. The individual reported Tuesday morning that they were told to submit a provisional ballot and "forced to use a pen and paper that was not cleaned" without sanitizer available.

At the Roseland Free Public Library, an individual reported a poll worker telling voters to forge the signatures of ballots (under penalty of perjury) when dropping off ballots of others at a drop box.

A voter at a Jersey City polling site reported two tables out with everyone voting in front of each other with no privacy. The individual said Tuesday morning that poll workers were looking over people’s ballots, with “no security in sight”. When she was finished filling out her ballot, a poll worker put it into an orange bag. At the Joseph H. Brensinger Elementary School polling location, voters were reportedly advised that they don't need to provide address or date of birth on provisional ballots because names are already "in the books”.

This story was produced with the help of tips reported through ProPublica's Electionland project. If you experience or witness a problem voting, please let us know.

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