Bucks County’s election problems have become national news, but the spotlight didn’t chase local voters away.
Instead, they waited in long lines Friday, the last day of additional early mail-in voting that a judge had ordered.
The ruling came after the Trump campaign filed a lawsuit against Bucks County, which had closed voting early during the on-demand mail-in ballot days the previous week. Those who were there before the cutoff times—5 p.m. in Doylestown and 4:30 p.m. at the two satellite locations—were given their ballots and allowed to put them in a drop box.
At the Levittown location, a crowd of more than 100 voters snaked around the building late Friday afternoon. Most had been there for two hours and had not reached the front of the line. Many wore Trump T-shirts or Trump stickers, which is not permitted at Election Day polling locations.
“It’s been crazy beyond words,” said Pat Poprik, Bucks County GOP chair, who was on hand. “These people waited in line for six hours.”
Candance Cabanas, the Republican running for state representative in the 140th district, offered people soft pretzels, bottled water and pizza from the GOP table.
Patty from Yardley had been in line for about an hour and 20 minutes. She had come in the morning but learned the wait was four hours and decided to leave and come back.
“I will be out of the country on Tuesday,” she said, when asked why she was voting Friday. She’s traveling to Costa Rica.
Several others told DVJournal that they will be away on Election Day.
“I travel for work,’ said Dennis Sams, a data engineer from Fairless Hills resident. “I won’t be here next week. I was planning to vote Tuesday, but I found out I couldn’t.”
Nick Rampersuad had been in line for 2 ½ hours.
“I’ve got to travel Tuesday,” the Bristol resident said. “It’s my one chance to vote here. We got some pizza, free food.”
His daughter, Ariana, said, “It’s important to use your voice and you do that by voting.”
Leslie Lamonsoff of Levittown had been waiting “a couple of hours.”
“I thought it would be easier,” she said. “But it will be just as bad on Tuesday.”
Bensalem resident Tiffany Cavitt is a first-time mom. She had a baby three weeks ago.
“I didn’t think I could bring him with me [to vote] and my husband will be out of town on Tuesday,” Cavitt said.
Some critics wonder if the long lines in Bucks County, which recently flipped from Democratic majority to Republican majority voter registrations, were intentional. Republican voter registration activist Scott Presler, was one who asked that on X.
Jim Worthington, a Trump supporter whose Newtown Sports and Athletic Center has been the site of several Republican events, came to encourage the voters.
“I’m glad you’re covering this mess,” he told DVJournal. “This just shows you the importance of county government. You vote for these people, and they think this is the norm. It’s got nothing to do with Democrat or Republican. It’s the competency of the people you vote for.”
“Local government has nothing to do with abortion, immigration,” he said. “It has to do with keeping your roads clean, your snow plowed, voting, your parks. And people get the wrong idea, and they get snowed. They think I’m going to vote this way because they believe in this.
“National issues have nothing to do with where you live. And we have a big election coming next year, the DA election. I’m a Republican. I believe in law and order. The fact of the matter is that it’s going be the most important election in Bucks County history. If we get a soft on crime person, this county’s in trouble,” Worthington said.
Later in the evening, the Trump bus stopped by. Trump surrogates former White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gridley, Congresswoman Victoria Spartz (R-Texas), economist Peter Navarro and Leo Terrell, a civil rights attorney, hopped off to a warm welcome from voters still waiting in line.
