Election Day on the Upper West Side: Wait Times, Broken Scanners, Bake Sales and More

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — There were a handful issues on the Upper West Side at polling places on Tuesday as the New York City Board of Elections struggled to deal with a bad combination of broken scanners and high turnout.

One major poll backup on the Upper West Side was reported at 7 a.m., just about an hour after polls opened. Every scanner at a polling site at the Cathedral Parkway Towers on West 109 Street shut down, forcing voters to leave their ballots in emergency ballot boxes, according to Twitter user Amy Snopek.

The problems at the Cathedral Parkway Towers were soon resolved by the Board of Elections, a poll site worker told Patch.

But similar problems at Cathedral Parkway Towers manifested throughout the neighborhood Tuesday.

Oh, and somehow Bill Ritter — anchor of the channel 7 news — found himself purged from the voter rolls while trying to cast his ballot on the Upper West Side.

Not every poll site surprise proved to be negative for Upper West Siders. Voters at P.S. 165 were treated to some baked goods courtesy of a PTA bake sale. Parents stood in front of the school slinging muffins, brownies and other treats, along with some Dunkin' Donuts Coffee.

Upper West Side resident Anja Mikic, fresh off of voting for Hillary Clinton, treated herself to a baked good because it felt good to vote, she said.

"We wanted to take advantage of the traffic that will be coming to the school today," PTA member Nicole Miller told Patch.

Photo: Patch