The longest wait?

With all the excitement about this election and the record absentee voting so far, I am expecting Hurricane Floyd evacuation-like tales from the voting booths.

The worst I've heard so far is a report (unconfirmed) that a person needed 4 hours and 15 minutes Wednesday to vote absentee in St. George. That's about twice as long as what election officials say is the average wait there, so I'm a bit skeptical, but maybe I shouldn't be.

I would be very interested in hearing stories of other waits, partly because the more frustration voters encounter this time around, the less likely they may be to participate next time.

Comments

[hedlines]

My daughter went to vote in St. George Wednesday just before noon and was told it would be at least a four-hour wait. She had to be at work in Summerville before then, so she left.

She successfully voted Thursday morning in less than an hour, after arriving around 8 a.m.

[Andy]

My wife and I waited in line for three hours Monday, Nov. 3, at the warehouse, waiting to vote. At the last minute, I had to leave my wife to go pick up my daughter from school. Luckily, they let me back in line when I returned. One question: how come there are no porto potties for all the folks standing around for three hours?

[Rob]

I got in line at Laing Middle School in Mt. P at 6:45 this morning. I walked out of Laing Middle School at 10:00 this morning. 3 hours 15 minutes. The thing that was most frustrating was that there were 3 different precincts voting at this same school - 22, 23, and 24. There were 3 lines inside the school - one for each precinct. Once you got registered at your table, you got a card and entered one line which led to the voting booths. So, since there were very few people voting in precinct 22, they went to the front of their line (which was nearly empty), got their card, and then entered the main line to vote. Those of us in 23 got passed by all of these 22 folks while we waited for our extremely long line to inch forward. A lady in 22 behind me said that the whole process took 45 minutes for her. Seems like someone could come up with a better, more democratic plan than this.

[Shades]

This is how the SC Republican Party wanted it. Let's not forget it was the Republican's who redrew voting districts a few years back. It's also "Republican's" or Republican appointed individuals who run the SC Election Commission. They decide how many machines, how many locations....

[voter]

Left Ft Dorchester Elementary - where two voters waited for 4 hours. Only four of the machines were working..unbelievable.

[satscout]

I got to Forest Park Playground (St Andrews 3 and 9) and the line was massive, estimated 2.5 hr wait. Got to the end of the line and met a poll worker who saw me hobbling to the end of the line with my cane - I told her my husband and I were tag-teaming it because it would be cruel to make our special-needs son wait in a line that long and we both had work this afternoon. So she was able to set me up for "curbside voting", something they can do for the mobility impaired of us. I got there at 9, left by a little after 10 and the line had barely moved. My husband went as soon as I got back, waited 2.5 hours, and never was able to get in. He had to come back and go to work, so he didn't get to vote. They were told two of the machines were down. The St. Andrews 9 line wasn't moving at all, at one point for over half an hour nobody could get in. He is pretty upset that he didn't get to vote but he had to leave so he could go to work and relieve the other person so THAT person could go vote... pretty wild...

[Sharen M]

The parking lot at Haut Gap Middle School on Johns Island was jammed at 11 a.m., so we left and returned at 2 p.m. There were significantly fewer cars, and the lines were running at about 20-30 minutes. On a happy note, I helped my 85-year-old mother, who has trouble walking and standing, to the polls, and found a folding chair for her to sit while I stood in line for her. A man in a wheelchair offered to let her go before him, and a helpful poll worker overheard and took her to the head of the line. Not a complaint from anyone -- they were happy to see her be able to vote. :)

[Voter]

Starting at 9 am, it took almost 4 hours to vote at Floyd Manor this morning. Unbelievably, there were only three machines for two precincts. Also a poll watcher asked me my party affiliation just before I voted, which amounts to campaigning and violates the rules.