Trying to Beat the Voting Lines? Here's Some Tips For New Yorkers

Everyone hates lines, myself most of all. I remember for the 2020 presidential election I woke before dawn and headed to the polls, in the dark, right as they opened, to try to avoid the voting line. The only problem is everyone else in my district apparently woke before dawn and headed to the polls, in the dark, right as they opened, to try to avoid the voting line. So despite my best efforts to the contrary, I spent two hours that I could have spent sleeping waiting in line to pull the lever and get my sticker.

The obvious answer to avoiding the lines is by voting early.

In the wise words of Vermin Supreme, "Vote early, vote often." There were 261,735 votes cast statewide in the first two days of early voting in New York. Your early vote counts and it works exactly the same as normal voting. After filling out your scantron you feed it to the scanner, and your votes are counted into your election night total.

Early voting is available even this weekend through Sunday, but if you don't get out by Sunday, you'll have to wait until Tuesday as the polls aren't open Monday. You can learn more about when and where early voting takes place here. And remember, just because you vote early, doesn't mean you can vote again on election day.

Another option to avoid the line and avoid leaving the house entirely is doing an absentee ballot. The deadline to get your ballot mailed to you was October 24, but you can still pick one up in person through November 7. Just remember, it's recommended to mail these as early as possible to ensure they get there on time to be counted.

Of course, if neither of these is an option for you, you can go to the polls when the least amount of people are there. These times tend to be 8 AM to 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM to 5 PM. If you go in at these times, hopefully, the line will be minimal or even non-existent.

Remember, voting is the only way to ensure change. Hopefully, you can find a way to beat the long voting lines.

Happy voting!

These Are The Top 8 Issues For New York Voters For The 2022 Elections

With only a few remaining weeks to go until the 2022 midterm elections, a new Siena College Research Institute poll shows what issues New York voters are most concerned with. Data was collected between September 16-25 via phone from 655 likely New York State voters.

A majority 53% of New Yorkers are pessimistic about where the country is headed, while 47% think the state's future is in trouble. Environmental issues just edged out of the top 8, with 55% of those polled in favor of New York passing the proposed $4.2 billion environmental bond act in November.