New UES Voting Site To Open At Marymount College, Easing Crowds

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The city has agreed to open a second early voting site on the Upper East Side starting Saturday, responding to widespread complaints of hourslong wait times at the single polling site that was serving most of the neighborhood.

Marymount Manhattan College on East 71st Street will be open for early voting from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, the final two days of early voting in New York, a spokesperson for the Board of Elections confirmed.

It will serve as an alternate polling site, meaning voters assigned to Robert Wagner can choose to vote at Marymount instead.

The agreement came after Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright pressured the Board of Elections to ease crowding at Robert F. Wagner Middle School, where more than 118,000 residents had been assigned to vote early — the most of any site in New York.

Seawright said Thursday afternoon that she had secured an agreement from Marymount President Kerry Walk to open a polling site on the college's campus, and threatened to sue the Board of Elections by Friday if no action was taken to reduce crowding.

Late Thursday, Seawright announced that the BOE had agreed to set up the Marymount poll site.

"Marymount Manhattan College had previously served as an election day poll site in the June Primary; the Board had reached out to them for the November General, but they were unavailable," BOE spokesperson Valerie Vazquez-Diaz said in a statement.

"We welcome their newfound interest in becoming a site. It is our hope that this additional site will help with the long lines at Robert F. Wagner Middle School."

Related coverage: This UES Early Voting Site Is The Most Overloaded In NYC

In a statement, Seawright — who is herself on the ballot for re-election — applauded the agreement, but condemned "the horrendous treatment of the disabled, senior citizens, and working men and women — voters who have stood in line for several hours to cast their ballots, including in the rain."

The Board of Elections has come under harsh scrutiny this week for the long waits at early voting sites around the city, and for setting up only 88 sites compared to 1,201 on Election Day Nov. 3.

Responding to public pressure, the BOE on Tuesday announced extended hours from Friday through Sunday at early voting sites around the city. The board also moved Thursday to increase pay for poll workers working extended hours this weekend.

Full election coverage: Election 2020: Upper East Side Voter Guide