New York Post - USA (2020-10-25)

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New York Post, Sunday, October 25, 2020

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ELECTION 2020


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her day and came to the Barclays
Center with her husband to vote
for Joe Biden. “We are gonna do
what it takes,” Grossman said.
It took nearly four hours be-
fore the couple was done. “It
was worth the wait,” Grossman
said. “We would do it again.”
Raheem Allah, 68, arrived at
7 a.m. “I have seen 12 broken
mailboxes in my neighborhood.
They are literally open. I don’t
trust them,” said Allah, who is
backing Biden over Trump.
The atmosphere was festive,

with the Brooklyn United
Marching Band performing out-
side. Inside were bowls of
wrapped candy for voters, who
could also take home the pens
they used. The measure was one
of many accommodations to
prevent the spread of coronavi-
rus, along with hand sanitizer
and plexiglass dividers between
workers and voters.
Masks were mandatory. Will-
iam Nevers, 45, showed up at
Holy Child R.C. Church on Staten
Island wearing one bearing the

name “Trump.” He was promptly
asked to turn it inside out to ad-
here to electioneering rules.
“I came early because I didn’t
want to stand in line, standing so
close to people,” said a local res-
ident named Cecilia who was at
the church at 8 a.m. to vote for
Trump. “I think it’s an important
election. Everyone should get
out and vote and let’s see what
happens.”
Election officials expect up to
60,000 people to vote at MSG,
which like the Barclays Center is

being used for the first time as a
polling site. They, like 86 other
early-polling sites, will be open
daily through next Sunday. They
will then close for a day and
reopen on Election Day, Nov. 3.
The lines were so long that
some voters gave up. One man,
after seeing 300 people on a line
snaking around Queens Borough
Hall, said he would return Sunday
or during the week. He suggested
the city Board of Elections keep
polling places open later than the
current 4 p.m. closing time.

Officials have pushed people
to do early in-person voting as
the Board of Elections is
swamped with processing and
counting absentee ballots.
The city’s Campaign Finance
Board projects as many as
3.3 million New Yorkers will vote,
a turnout of 70 percent. The ab-
sentee ballots won’t be counted
until after Election Day. The
count from early voting will be
tallied after polls close on Nov. 3.
Additional reporting by Sam
Raskin and Larry Celona

votiNg with their feet


democracy on the line:democracy on the line: People queue up People queue up People queue up People queue up
around the Big Apple on Saturday — including around the Big Apple on Saturday — including around the Big Apple on Saturday — including around the Big Apple on Saturday — including around the Big Apple on Saturday — including
above in Brooklyn — on the first day of early voting above in Brooklyn — on the first day of early voting above in Brooklyn — on the first day of early voting
for the presidential and local elections.

BROOKLYN
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