Storm Battered Northeast Giving Voters Options On Election Day
NEW YORK (CBSMiami) - This is an Election Day residents of the storm damaged Northeast will never forget. Thousands are still without power, many without a place to live. But even in the most devastated areas, they're overcoming all obstacles to get out and vote.
In the borough of Queens, New York crowds streamed into tents Tuesday morning to cast their vote. People roamed through devastated neighborhoods to find make shift polling places.
Election officials brought in generators to power the polling tents in the Rockaway area of Queens. A week after Sandy, the neighborhood is still flooded and with power. In nearby Breezy Point, where more than 100 homes burned to the ground during the storm, the city has sent in buses to pick up voters and taken them to the polls.
"It's good to vote because it'll make a difference," said Diana Nunez who voted in Queens. "The way things are right now, it's good to vote."
To make sure all New Yorkers get a chance to vote, the state is allowing displaced residents to vote at any polling site they can reach.
"We want everyone to vote. Just because you're displaced doesn't mean you're disenfranchised," said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
In storm damaged New Jersey, election officials scrambled to relocate polling stations. Where voters simple can't get tot the, the state is allowing them to email or fax in their ballots.
For many, voting has never been a big challenge. But Tuesday those living in the storm battered neighborhoods were determined to make it work and bring some normalcy back to their lives.
The CBS Corporation, the parent company of CBS4 and CBSMiami.com, has contributed one million dollars to the American Red Cross for recovery and assistance. In addition, the CBS Corporation will match any contributions made by its employees to any Sandy related relief effort by make additional contributions to the American Red Cross.
