Young people were turning out in droves at a polling site near Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa, on Tuesday afternoon, with students waiting for several hours, in lines extending for blocks, to cast their votes.
Ana Sofia Mendoza, a 19-year-old sophomore at Lehigh, said she stayed in the line at Banana Factory Arts and Education Center for 6 hours 8 minutes to reach the front. At 6 p.m., Brendan Xanthos, a 19 year-old freshman, said he had been waiting for 6:19 and still had 10 people ahead of him.
Classes had been canceled for “Civic Engagement Day,” according to a social media post by Lehigh’s student senate, and the four voting machines that Northampton County had assigned to the Banana Factory were overwhelmed, especially after one temporarily broke down.
A judge in Northampton County denied a request by a lawyer representing the Democratic National Committee to extend voting hours by two hours, to 10 p.m. Eastern, the lawyer, Gary Asteak, confirmed by email. Voters in line by 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote. Mr. Asteak said the food and drink on site would make it more likely that the voters would wait it out. “They’ll stay all night,” he said.
Volunteers handed out pizza and water as some people chatted or danced to loud bachata music to pass time. Zoe Aaron, 21, a psychology and education major at Lehigh, said she waited more than three hours to vote Tuesday. As the sun was setting, she returned to encourage those still waiting to remain in line.
Ms. Aaron and her friend Phoebe Kronfeld, 21, a business major, said they were motivated by women’s being able to choose what to do with their bodies above any other issue. “I believe Kamala Harris, as a woman understands that, and she can do something about it,” Ms. Kronfeld said.
Other Lehigh students in the group agreed, even if they differed on what issues were more important during this election. Edgard Cuadra, 22, who is studying finance and industrial engineering, said that for him the economy and immigration were top of mind. Unlike his friends, he planned to vote for Donald J. Trump.
While many students seemed to be supporting Ms. Harris, some said there was ample support for Mr. Trump among the city’s other residents. Joseph R. Biden Jr. won Lehigh County, which includes parts of Bethlehem, with 53 percent of the vote in 2020.
Voters waiting in line, like Andrew Kline, 26, a waiter who is not a student, said he was amazed by the size of the line.
“These are the most people I’ve ever seen waiting to vote,” he said. “We’re not going anywhere, no matter how long it takes.”
In an interview, Lamont McClure, the Northampton County executive, said he was surprised by the turnout. He said that he didn’t have turnout numbers for the Banana Factory yet, but expected they would be at least twice those of previous presidential elections, when roughly 1,000 ballots were cast. Anyone who was still in line when the polls closed would be able to cast their ballot as required by state law, he said.
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