Update: New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin will ask a judge to keep the polls open in Burlington County until 9 PM to accommodate voters who have faced massive lines — and allow some frustrated voters who went home to return to their polling location and vote. This could be the first time the attorney general is going directly to a Superior Court Judge instead of through county election officials.
There are massive lines at polling locations throughout Burlington County – some reports put the waiting time at three to four hours for thousands of voters — after a confluence of problems, none of them nefarious, created massive backups today.
Right now, the state Attorney General’s office and election officials from both parties are discussing whether to go to court tonight to ask that the polls remain open past 8 PM, and are considering expanding the use of paper ballots immediately to give the voters the option to skip the line and vote.
Voters who arrive before the polls close at 8 PM will be permitted to vote, no matter how long that takes. But officials from both parties are concerned that ridiculously long lines could deter some people from voting at all, effectively disenfranchising them.
While there are reports of long lines up and down New Jersey, the Burlington issues appear to be a confluence of troubles that began at 6 AM when technical problems related to internet connectivity of electronic poll books delayed the opening of polling locations.
Once the technical issues were solved this morning, high voter turnout and new voting machines – and in many cases – not enough of them – meant that the early morning deficit and the added demand have put Burlington into a deep hole.
Rep. Andy Kim, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, told the New Jersey Globe that he and his family waited two hours to cast their ballots this morning in Moorestown. Assembly Majority Whip Carol Murphy said she arrived at her polling place in Mount Laurel at 10:30 AM and didn’t vote until 2:45 PM.
In addition to Moorestown and Mount Laurel, there have been reports of hours-long waiting times in other municipalities, including Evesham, Medford, Mansfield, Bordentown, and Riverside – along with tiny Tabernacle, which had just one voting machine.
Election officials began deploying backup voting machines to some polling places to reduce the waiting time. Those officials are also looking at increasing the number of paper ballots.
The likelihood that many voters might still be casting ballots after 8 PM means that the likely call of the 3rd district race for Kim’s open congressional seat could also be delayed.