YORK COUNTY, Pa. — Long lines and long wait times: Some voters in York County stood in line for more than three hours Election Day. Northeastern Middle School in East Manchester Township is the township's only polling place, and some voters say it showed Tuesday.
"We got here around 4 p.m. so about 3 and a half hours now," said Joe Schaufele, a voter, when asked about the wait time to cast his ballot.
"3 hours and 55 minutes I was in line," said Ken, a voter FOX43 spoke with after he cast his ballot.
Some people say their neighbors waited longer during the afternoon.
"This is the fourth time I'm back to try and make a vote so," explained Joel Patterson, a voter. "The lines were so long. This is the best it's been all day."
FOX43 caught up with Patterson around 8 p.m. Election night. Patterson and his wife, Tricia, wore coats and hoped the line wouldn't be as long as it was during the day.
Some voters brought chairs to sit in as they waited. Others held hot cocoas and coffee to stay warm and awake.
"We've been talking, meeting our neighbors and stuff. We had a kind neighbor there. My wife got cold, she [the neighbor] lent her an extra jacket. Everybody kept bringing food," explained Schaufele.
There were countless pizza boxes scattered along the sidewalk for the hundreds of people. Many people wondered why there is only one place to cast a vote in East Manchester Township.
"There is no reason anybody should have to wait four hours to vote. Our township has grown and grown over the years to vote. We need to have more than one precinct, many three, at least two, every four years, so we don't have to wait four hours to vote," added Ken,
"Honestly, I didn't really want to come but my kids were the big motivator. They were like, 'you have to go vote, you have to go vote,'" explained Tricia Patterson.
The long line is the reason some voters say they will request a mail-in ballot next presidential election.
"My wife did a mail in ballot, and when I told her I was in line, it was probably going to be four hours, she said, 'I told you -- you should've used a mail in ballot,' and she was right," laughed Ken.
Officials point to three reasons for the long line: They say they had to abide by COVID-19 guidelines which limit people inside the building. They say poll workers had to work with many voters who had received a mail-in ballot but wanted to vote in person, and finally, they say there is large interest in this presidential election.