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Long lines and some confusion on final day of on-demand voting in Bucks County
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Long lines and some confusion on final day of on-demand voting in Bucks County

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) — Bucks County voters lined up to take advantage of on-demand voting after a lawsuit forced the county to extend the absentee ballot deadline.

“I thought, ‘What a great opportunity to have,'” said Brian Hensel, who waited in line for more than an hour at the Bucks County Administration Building in Doylestown.

Hensel said after missing the original Oct. 29 deadline to request an absentee ballot, he was happy to take care of the process before Election Day.

“We were all talking about it. It’s a bit like being in an amusement park and you get to know the people in line,” he said.

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He is one of hundreds of people in Bucks County who took advantage of extra time to vote on demand.

This meant voters could request, receive, complete and return their absentee ballots in one trip.

It’s different from voting in person, on a machine, on Election Day.

“He said, ‘Are you voting in person today?'” Christine Chianese of New Hope said of her online experience. “I said, ‘Yes.’ He said, “Fill this out.”

Chianese completed his absentee ballot application while waiting in line.

The process had caused some confusion.

“I’m still going to do it,” Chianese said.

The original deadline for Pennsylvania to request an absentee ballot was Tuesday at 5 p.m.

THE The Trump campaign then sued Bucks Countyaccusing officials of turning away voters before that deadline.

A judge said in a one-page order that Bucks County voters who want to request an early absentee ballot now have until Friday at 5 p.m.

There seemed to be confusion about whether you had to queue before 5 p.m. or whether your application had to be processed before 5 p.m.

A judge sided with the Trump campaign and extended the deadline in Bucks County, leading to long lines at satellite county centers in Levittown, Quakertown and the main office in Doylestown.

In Levittown, one man told Action News he waited in line for three to four hours, maybe more.

“We were told it was two and a half hours from there and it’s been almost three and a half hours and we’re probably still an hour away,” George Schott of Yardley said while waiting in line.

Pat Poprik, chairman of the Bucks County Republican Committee, said the reason this satellite center had such a long wait was due to a combination of limited space and only having one printer.

“These printers are specially sent by the state. They can only print the ballots one by one,” Poprik explained. “The lack of supplies and printers is a real problem. Doylestown had two.”

Voters said they all had their own reasons for opting to vote by mail.

“I’ve always voted on Election Day, I’m a big believer in it, but this year I volunteered to observe the vote,” said Matthew Tevnan of Warrington.

“We decided to come together and vote early,” Swati Kaushik said of her and her family. “We were hoping it would be a smaller line, but it’s not.”

Open county offices also gave absentee voters the opportunity to resolve issues before Election Day.

Kelly Durie says she turned in her ballot two weeks ago, but it was never processed.

“Our two ballots have not yet been received even though we delivered them to a person behind glass in this building,” Durie said.

Bucks County officials said anyone in line at the end of the business day — that is, 5 p.m. at the Doylestown County offices and 4:30 p.m. at the Levittown satellite offices and Quakertown – had the ability to vote upon request. .

Volunteers and election workers stayed late into the evening to greet voters and help them with their process.

The deadline to return a postal ballot is 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5.

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