Bucks County, Pennsylvania, voters wait in line for hours to cast ballots after court-ordered extension
A judge's order in former President Donald Trump's favor extended on-demand mail ballot voting in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Voters there had Thursday and all day Friday to cast their ballots in person.
There was a long line of people inside the Administration Building in Doylestown who came to vote early. In Pennsylvania, it's called "On-demand Mail Ballot Voting," when someone applies to vote by mail, receives their ballot, fills it out and turns it in all in one visit.
Bucks County officials estimate it can take at least 10 minutes per person. But on Friday, voters at the front of the line at the county building in Levittown waiting to cast their mail-in ballot said it was taking roughly 20 minutes to print one ballot.
The line was wrapped around the building with many voters sitting in chairs saying they had been waiting between five to seven hours. The voters in line were looking to apply for a mail-in ballot, get it on the spot, fill it out and turn it back in all in one visit.
Some voters said they were hungry, thirsty and worn out after standing in line since 8 a.m. Friday.
"I'm going to walk away. This is just — this is pointless. This is not the American system of voting," Rick Wilson, a Bucks County voter, said. "The expectation of...expecting people to wait eight, 10 hours in line to vote in a day when there's technology available, this could be done in minutes, makes no sense whatsoever."
On Thursday, Cassandra Brown brought her two daughters along to stand in line for about an hour.
"I'm voting for Trump for the third time, I'm excited. I hope he wins," Brown said.
The deadline for the rest of Pennsylvania was Tuesday, but a judge ruled Bucks County had violated Pennsylvania's election code by turning away people who had been in line before the deadline. Bucks County was ordered to extend on-demand voting through the end of the week.
"The one good thing about Trump is he extended this for two days," Gary Nightingale and his wife said Thursday. They stood in line, hoping to skip Election Day crowds.
The judge issued another ruling Thursday clarifying the extension. Here's what Bucks County voters need to know:
If you were in line before 5 p.m. Thursday or Friday at the county building in Doylestown, you will be allowed to fill out the mail-in ballot and turn it in. If you were in line before 4:30 p.m. Thursday or Friday at the county buildings in Levittown and Quakertown, you are allowed to cast your vote.
According to Bucks County officials, as of Thursday afternoon, the county is on pace to receive fewer mail-in ballots than four years ago.
State law doesn't allow workers to start counting those ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day, so all the ballots sit in a secured room until workers can start opening envelopes on Nov. 5.
