Voters Line Up To Cast Ballots In Competitive Year

Polling places through the Levittown area were packed Tuesday with some people waiting more than an hour to cast their ballot.

Many poll workers and campaign volunteers said they couldn’t remember a recent election where such a large turnout had shown up throughout the day and evening. This year featured highly competitive presidential, senate and congressional races.

In nearly all of the voting districts LevittownNow.com reporters stopped at, election officials reported turnout greater than 60 percent by the evening. In the morning and afternoon, poll workers were reporting higher than normal turnout.

“There’s been great turnout,” said Helen Hoover, who was helping voters and supporting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Brookwood Elementary School in Bristol Township.

The various voting districts casting ballots in Brookwood all reported a majority of their registered voters coming to the polls.

By mid-afternoon, the polling place at Franklin D. Roosevelt Middle School in Bristol Township had seen 50 percent of registered voters cast their ballots.

The story was similar in other towns. Polling places in Falls Township and Middletown were busy and saw what some poll workers said was record turnout.

At Neshaminy High School in Middletown, 1594 registered voters out of 3,053 had cast their ballots as of 2:15 p.m.

In the morning, a line at least 120 people deep snaked out of the polling places in the cafeteria of Maple Point Middle School in Middletown.

In Penndel, a little under 50 percent of voters had cast their votes by 2 p.m. By evening, that number has risen to more than 60 percent of people casting their ballots.

Tullytown officials said there was a high volume of voters with the majority of adult borough residents voting.

By 6:30 p.m., more than 70 percent of registered voters had cast their ballot at Bristol Borough High School.

No major voting problems were reported, aside from long lines, Bucks County spokesman Chris Edwards said.

District Attorney Matt Weintraub said in the afternoon his office had not been made aware of any criminal acts involving polling places or the election.

Voters had to stand in lines before they could cast their ballots but not many complained about the wait.

“I didn’t mind the wait. I really feel like this is my obligation. I vote every single time,” said a Falls woman outside Pennsbury High School’s polling place.

Democratic congressional candidate State Rep. Steve Santarsiero said he saw heavy turnout in the morning when he was visiting polls and was encouraged by the level of participation.

“I feel like I’m doing a good thing. I feel like I’m doing my patriotic duty,” said Kevin Efaw, who was stumping for Trump outside of the polling place at St. Ann’s in Bristol Borough with his fiance Rachel Wilson.

Falls resident John Verillo said after casting his ballot at Pennsbury High School that he voted for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. “Trump is a bully and felt he was so superior that he bullied people,” Verillo said.

Outside the Benjamin Franklin School on Mill Creek Road in Bristol Township, Chuck Clayton was working the polls for Republican congressional candidate Brian Fitzpatrick and Trump. He said he supported Trump because he believes in his pledge to “Make America Great Again.”