By Mark Hallum
Poll workers could not catch a break on Election Day with the persistent flow of voters to PS 193 in Whitestone. By 5:40 p.m. 4,300 had made it out, and the crowd kept coming.
Scanner Inspector Mitchell Krever has been working at the site for the past eight years and said the only time it compared to Tuesday’s turnout was the election following Hurricane Sandy, which not only displaced residents but their usual polling places.
“It’s never slowed down,” Krever said about Tuesday’s pace. “This is democracy in action.”
Donna M said she was taking the good with the bad in voting for Republican nominee Donald Trump and her immigrant heritage played a surprising role in that decision.
“The sticking points for me are work, safety, and taking care of our borders,” she said. “I’m first generation here, my parents are from Italy. There was no press one for Italian… They had to learn. [My father] had the broken English, he worked two jobs and he’s a millionaire today.”
But she veered from the Republican ticket to support state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside)
Sharon Roberts said she is a registered Republican, but as a special eduction teacher no longer sees voting for the GOP as beneficial to her purpose in life. She voted Democrat across all levels of government, for congressional candidate Tom Suozzi and U.S. Rep. Charles Schumer (D-NY).
“You can’t afford to vote Republican,” she said. “They’re getting too far off the mark.”
Jamie Roberts, a publicist who works in news, said she drew the line as the GOP candidate’s statements went further and further from the truth.
“I know what’s real and what’s fake that’s being said out there and I know what’s spin,” Roberts said. “There’s so much wrong with this Trump campaign.”
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Mark Hallum
TimesLedger reporter
