Long Lines For Last Day Of On-Demand Voting, Applications For Mail-In Ballots

There were long lines and confusion at three county election offices on Tuesday, the last day on-demand voting was offered and that voters could apply for mail-in or absentee ballots.

Confusion reigned supreme for some time at the Lower Bucks County Government Services Center in Bristol Township as Tuesday afternoon dragged on. More than 100 people were in line to either apply for mail-in or absentee ballots in person or vote on demand, both of which had to be completed by 5 p.m.

Similar reports came in from the Bucks County Administration Building in Doylestown Borough and Upper Bucks County Government Services Center just outside of Quakertown.

Voters in line told tales of Republican and Democratic campaign volunteers, their peers waiting, and county staff telling them conflicting information, leading some people to give up and leave. Similar information was provided to this news organization through phone calls, social media messages, emails, and nine reports to the national voting monitoring Electionland Project, which is led by nonprofit news organization ProPublica.

Rudy Cvetkovic, of Langhorne Borough, had been waiting in line for close to two hours by 1:45 p.m. and relayed that people had been providing contradicting information to voters. He said he was frustrated by the situation and by the fact he had not received his mail-in ballot, leading to him waiting to speak to election workers.

Rudy Cvetkovic in line.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com

A Levittown resident who only provided the name Jeanette shared a similar story about waiting in line. She said she wasn’t leaving until she spoke with county election staff about casting her ballot.

Many of the people in line were under the impression that on-demand voting was the same as voting at their polling place but only in advance. While both processes allow a person to vote, the way the two options for casting ballots work are much different.

Around 2:30 p.m., county staff and sheriff’s deputies began informing those toward the rear of the line in Bristol Township that no more people could cast their ballots via on-demand voting and staff would not be able to accommodate all the on-demand voting requests before 5 p.m., the state-mandated deadline. Staff directed voters to apply for a mail-in ballot on the spot. The informed they would let them know when they pick it up at the election office in the coming days. Voters were also told they could go to a polling place on election day to cast their ballot.

There was additionally confusion as some voters thought the 7 p.m. end time for completed ballot drop offs was also for on-demand voting.

State law only allowed on-demand voting until 5 p.m. on Tuesday. Unlike voting on election day, on-demand voting did allow people in line by the deadline to cast their ballot past 5 p.m. The county urged people to schedule an appointment for weeks, but about a dozen people LevittownNow.com spoke with at the Bristol Township election office said they just showed up, some spurred by social media posts and campaign ads.

Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie, who chairs the Board of Elections, confirmed that he was at the site for nearly four hours. He said people were confusing the on-demand voting with more expansive early voting that other states offer.

Harvie said some voters were confused about early voting due to phone calls, political advertisements, and information distributed that may have made on-demand voting appear to be similar to early voting.

A review of the state website shows the process called the “early in-person voting option.”

“It’s not a polling place,” Harvie said of the Board of Elections satellite offices. “This is simply an extra way to vote if you want to.”

Some of Tuesday’s lines were also caused by people coming to ask election officials questions, apply for mail-in or absentee ballots before the deadline, or get a new secrecy envelope, some of which has been sealed enroute due to mail getting wet.

“This all caused lines,” Harvie said.

Tammi Moran, a Yardley resident, brought a comfortable chair to sit in as she waited to get her on-demand ballot.

Tammi Moran in her chair.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com

“I don’t mind. I’ve got snacks and drinks,” she said.

Moran first came on Monday, but the rainy weather kept her away and brought her back on Tuesday.

“I don’t mind waiting,” she said, noting the nice weather.

While there were delays for other services, the process for dropping off completed mail-in ballots appeared to continue to be smooth and a small line that formed at times moved quickly.

Harvie noted the hard work by election staff, sheriff’s deputies, county security, and county rangers.

“The two staff are working until 10 p.m. to process everything from today. They don’t go home at 7 p.m. when everyone else is,” he said of the county election workers in Bristol Township.

At one point, a county election staff used a Bucks County Rangers’ patrol vehicle public address system to let voters know what was happening, the commissioner noted.

“They’re doing an unbelievable job over the past few weeks,” he said.