2012 Election Snapshot: New York

Article October 17, 2013 Read time:

Projects: Election Initiatives

2012 Election Snapshots

Over the past several months, Pew collected data about the 2012 presidential election from nearly every state and the District of Columbia. We used the findings to create a snapshot of each jurisdiction, focusing on how many people voted, how long they waited to cast their ballots, how they cast them, and how many ballots were not counted. These snapshots will be released over the coming months, five at a time, and the Election Data Dispatches will take a closer look at the latest snapshots each week.

2012 Election Snapshot—New York

The average wait time to vote in New York during the 2012 election was 10 minutes, but actual times varied significantly across the state, in part because of the impact of Hurricane Sandy on New York City.

Testimony before the New York City Council regarding elections oversight described wait times of two to three hours.
Election Day media reports from across the state estimated wait times of 30 to 90 minutes.

Reports highlighted election administration inefficiencies that increased wait times at polling locations and prompted calls for election reforms, including establishing qualifications for members of the Board of Elections and allowing early voting to shorten lines on Election Day.