NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Early voting began in New York state on Saturday, with thousands of people waiting in socially distanced lines across the city to cast their ballots.
It's the first time New Yorkers have been able to vote early in a presidential election. There are 280 early voting sites across the state, including 88 in the city.
Although early voting runs through Nov. 1, voters at a polling site in Fort Greene said they couldn't wait—although they were willing to wait in hours-long voting lines.
"Definitely ready to wait, you know, we can't wait any longer, we've waited for four years," one man said.
Barbara Abrahams, 76, said that growing up in the South she would never miss an election.
"I waited a long time as a child. And when the law was passed, my mother made sure I understood that. And I have never in my life missed an opportunity to vote," she said.
Samantha Liebman/1010 WINS
Abrahams said she made new friends after waiting for two hours. Others brought chairs, knowing it would take a while but was too important to miss.
"There are more people voting now than ever before. This is the most important election in our lifetime," one woman said.
Another voter, Andrew, felt it was easier to drop off his mail-in ballot and skip the winding lines.
"To see firsthand how bad the lines were, you know in a pandemic you want to keep people safe, so it just makes more sense to quickly drop it off," he said.
But several safety measures were in place at polling sites. Voters had their temperatures taken, hand sanitizer was available and poll workers kept people six feet apart.
.@NewYorkStateAG voting early in #FortGreene. She says her office is working with @NYCMayor to observe polls and has hotline to report problems. #EarlyVoting #nyc #VOTENYC #1010WINS pic.twitter.com/ndegSaCTZh
— Samantha Liebman (@SamiLiebman) October 24, 2020
As for concerns about irregularities or voter intimidation, state Attorney General Letitia James—who was among the first to vote in Fort Greene on Saturday—said the state is prepared.
"There's going to be an army of lawyers and non-lawyers alike all across the state of New York. We are prepared for whatever comes," James said. "So my advice to anyone who seeks to engage in voter suppression, voter intimidation: we're coming for you and we're ready for you."
Early voting will continue through Nov. 1, then break for a day before Election Day on Nov. 3.
At least 51.8 million Americans have already cast ballots nationally, either by mail or in early in-person voting. That tally doesn't yet include votes cast in New York.
New York's nine-day early voting period is shorter than many other states. Californians starts voting 29 days before Election Day, while Virginia's starts 45 days before.
New York state launched early voting last year. Its biggest use so far was in the June primary, when more than 118,000 people voted early, or about 6.7% of the total votes cast.
People can also vote by absentee ballot this year. Officials are trying to avoid crowded polling places on Election Day because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
