Live DC Election Updates: NBA Promotes Voting, Feeding Voters

WASHINGTON, DC — District residents showing up at Capital One Arena voting center were greeted Tuesday morning by three professional athletes: Ish Smith and Admiral Schofield of the Washington Wizards and Tianna Hawkins of the Washington Mystics.

In October, Monumental Sports & Entertainment partnered with the D.C. Board of Elections to use the Capital One Arena as an early voting site and as a voting center on Election Day. So on Tuesday, Smith, Schofield and Hawkins were on hand to encourage people to vote.

"I'm not one to tell you to choose one side or another," Smith said. "I just say utilize your voice and do it the best way that you can."

Schofield wanted to encourage people not just to vote this year but for years to come. Also, as a registered D.C. voter, he was there to cast his own ballot.

"I haven't necessarily been focused on D.C. issues, more so on a variety of issues," he said. "I'm really focused on issues back home. We've been dealing with a lot of police brutality in the Lake County area, a lot of gun violence."

Schofield grew up in Zion, Illinois, about 40 miles north of Chicago.

"I'm looking to see more justice in our judicial system in that area, but also some police reform," he said.

Unlike Smith and Schofield, Hawkins is a bit more familiar with the issues facing D.C.-area voters. She grew up in Prince George's County, Maryland, and attended Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro. She also played basketball at the University of Maryland.

"We've always heard about the importance of voting, but you also hear about not having the access to vote," she said. "I think today it's very important for everyone to get out and vote."

World Center Kitchen Feeds Hungry District Voters

Since early voting began in the District and at more than 200 other cities across the country, the World Center Kitchen has set up tables outside of polling centers to feed hungry voters. Over the last few weeks, the kitchen has served more than half a million meals at early voting centers.

"Having some food out, in the worst case, for people who are waiting in the long line," said Josh Phelps, director of relief operations World Center Kitchen. "But if there's no long line, it's still something nice to do for the community as they're coming out and exercising their civic duty."

On Tuesday, World Center Kitchen was operating at about 20 voting centers in the District, including at Nationals Park, where it was serving meals out of its own food truck.

Phelps and his crew had set up shop outside the Capital One Arena polling center.

"You don't have to be voting," he said. "The meal's for anybody walking by who might need a little something extra to take home to their family. Maybe they had a long day at work. It doesn't matter. It's a nonpartisan effort. If you happen to be voting, great. If you're not, you can still get a meal."

Voting Slow But Steady In Columbia Heights

Located in Ward 1, the Columbia Heights Rec Center was the third busiest of the District's 32 early voting centers. With an average turnout between 400 and 600 a day, a total of 4,080 people voted at the center prior to Election Day.

But by late in the morning on Tuesday, things were much slower by comparison.

Although voting was steady throughout the morning, only about 200 voters had cast their ballots as of 11 a.m., which is slower than expected, according to site coordinator Tony Bouillion.

"We had a line to start, but that was gone within the first 10 minutes," he said, citing concern over the coronavirus as the main reason people came out early to vote.

To ensure that people would be able to vote safely, Bouillion and his team adopted a number of precautions. These included requiring every voter to wear a mask, enforcing a minimum 6-foot distance between voters, limiting the number of voters in the polls to 50, and installing plexiglass barriers between poll workers and voters.

"We have a dedicated cleaner who is wiping down everything," he said. "We wipe down the machines after each use. Everyone's in gloves."

During early voting, Bouillion said, there was always someone who showed up right at closing time to vote. As long as the voter is in line at 8 p.m., they'll be able to vote.

"My only concern is I don't know what to expect because there were so many early voters," said Bouillion, who has worked at the polls for 15 years. "I don't know what the numbers are going to be."

The Columbia Heights Rec Center was one of the voting centers that experienced problems during the June 2 primary and ended up closing at 2 a.m. Bouillion doesn't expect that to happen Tuesday night.

"The last voter in line gets to vote," he said. "I expect that we may go an hour or later than that, later than 8, but not much longer than that. Just from what I'm seeing today."