Voters in Burlington County, New Jersey demand changes after waiting for hours at polling sites
Burlington County leaders called the experience of voters Tuesday, who waited hours in long lines at the polls, "unacceptable" and vowed a "top-to-bottom" review of election procedures to prevent a repeat of delays.
The statement came after complaints from voters at multiple polling locations, including in Hainesport, Evesham and Medford.
Mary Peyerl said she waited five hours to vote at her polling location.
"It was the craziest day of my life," Peyerl said. "I never dreamed I would wait five hours to vote for a president."
The New Jersey Attorney General successfully sued Tuesday to extend the deadline to vote by an hour to 9 p.m., which is about the time Kathleen Westerby finally voted.
"We were there at 3 o'clock and casted my vote at 8:42 [p.m.], so five hours and 42 minutes," Westerby said. "People had coolers. They were sharing their water. It was an adventure; one I don't want to do again."
In its statement, the county cited high turnout with technical issues earlier in the day as reasons for the delays.
They also said they will review the number of voting machines available at each polling location after voters complained that there were not enough machines.
"They should be ashamed of themselves," Peyerl said. "They were not equipped to take on the people that wanted to vote."
Peyerl, Westerby, and her son, Angus, said they were still in line to vote when the presidential race was called in New Jersey, but they refused to leave.
"Yes, because I'm a patriot," Peyerl said. "I said no, we're not going home."
"It's your American right, you got to do it, so, even if you feel one person is not going to matter, you got to go," Angus Westerby said. "It's your duty to vote."
They credit the kindness of the poll workers and other voters who helped each other while waiting.
"A woman went out with her daughter and bought cases of water and trays of cookies and brownies and went along the line, giving them out to people, which was so sweet," Peyerl said. "It was a beautiful experience in one way, and the other way, it was very frustrating."
Both Peyerl and Kathleen Westerby expressed alarm about the number of voters who didn't cast their ballots because they couldn't wait in the long lines.
"I saw so many people leave, upset that they didn't get to cast their vote," Westerby said. "I know so many people who said, 'I'm not going to go vote. I'm not going to go vote,' and to me, that was just another way, like, we didn't count, like, this area never counts."
Tina Zappile, the director of Stockton University's Hughes Center for Public Policy, said she waited close to three hours to cast her ballot.
She said the county implemented new voting machines, which added an extra step for people casting their ballots.
"Confusion was probably the top thing that people were experiencing early on, but as people started to trickle out of the building," Zappile said. "A lot of people were actually talking about how they felt safer because there was this extra step, and you had a paper ballot for the first time in decades."
Here's part of the statement from Burlington County leaders that can be read below:
"The Burlington County Commissioners and the leaders of Burlington County's major political parties share the same frustrations and concerns of the numerous voters who were upset about the long lines and waits during the 2024 election.
This election saw an extremely high turnout at the polls, ranking it as one of the highest for total voter participation, including 2008 when the County last experienced significant lines and waits at the polls.
The long lines and waits at the polls yesterday were unacceptable and Burlington County will take whatever action is needed to ensure that the situation does not repeat itself in future elections, regardless of the turnout."
Read the full statement from the Board of Burlington County Commissioners here.