After seeing friends, celebrities and acquaintances voting early for this 2020 Presidential Election, I decided to do my civic duty and go to an early polling location in New York City to cast my ballot a week before Election Day.
Nearly half a million votes have been cast in the first four days of early voting, which has led to very long lines.. the one I waited on took 5 hours. Even NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio got in line at 1:15pm on Tuesday and had to wait three and a half hours. While waiting, I made sure to wear comfortable shoes, and made sure to have snacks, reading material and charged headphones for the wait. At the early polling location there was only 1 porta-potty available and so I made sure not to drink any water my entire wait. Some people ordered food at the restaurants around the block and was able to escape to pick it up and beg their way into using a toilet. I recommend trying to avoid drinking before you get in the line.
Also very important to note that I felt completely safe during my entire time in the line. Every single person was wearing a mask and when we actually got inside they really were limiting the amount of bodies inside the polling location, so you only were inside for about 5 minutes. Even though I waited over 5 hours to vote, I'm so glad I got it out of the way early. The line was long, but you really felt a sense of community while you were waiting it out.
If you are thinking about voting in-person before Election Day, make sure you plan out the time and also note there will be no early voting the day before the election. You can also drop off your absentee ballot at any of the early voting locations.
CLICK HERE to find your polling place, and CLICK HERE to browse by county for times and places where you can vote early.