Long Wait to Vote in Forks and Palmer

We all have the right to vote on Election Day.

But for some residents of Forks and Palmer townships, the right to cast that vote couldn't be exercised for some time. And some people got too frustrated to bother.

At the Tracy Elementary School in Palmer Township and Faith Lutheran Church in Forks Township, voters had to wait at least two hours -- some even longer -- to vote for president and the other races, including the 137th Legislative District.

Maureen Miller of Palmer Township said the lines at Tracy "were wrapped around the school all day long."

Miller said she called the Board of Elections and there were many complaints. Miller said she also put a complaint into the Board of Voter Supression.

"My husband tried to vote this morning before work but had to leave and again after work and is still in line at 8:50 p.m," Miller said in an email Tuesday night.

She said it was the first time since her husband -- who left the line at 9 p.m. after being there since 7:30 p.m. -- was 18 that he did not vote in a presidential election.

"And he is 56," she said. "My son was not able to wait. There were many people leaving the line who did not vote."

Many voters had to stand outside in the freezing cold where some polling places -- like Faith Lutheran -- didn't have enough room to keep residents indoors.

Many Palmer and Forks residents reported on our Facebook page about at least a two-hour wait at the church.

The judge of elections there said he has complained to the Northampton County Board of Elections before about the fact that the church has 3,000 voters while other Forks precincts only had 800 voters on their registration rolls.

He said the church averaged a steady stream of about 120 voters per hour.

Meanwhile, another resident posted that the voting process at Tracy Elementary took four hours during the evening because of sign-in issues poll workers were having working the table.

"This needs to be fixed," she stated.