Storm victims struggle to vote
Source: Agencies |
November 7, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
VOTING in the US presidential election was the latest challenge for the hundreds of thousands of people in the New York-New Jersey area still affected by superstorm Sandy, as they struggled to get to non-damaged polling places to cast their ballots in one of the tightest elections in recent history.
The campaigns of both President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have long assumed that the heavily Democratic region would support Obama.
But voters were taking special election shuttles from storm-hit areas and voting by affidavit from any polling place they could reach after officials put emergency measures in place.
Early turnout appeared high, despite the hurdles. Some polling places were in tents, and some voters were in tears.
"Oh my God, I have been so anxious about being able to vote," said 73-year-old Annette DeBona of hard-hit Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, who was there at dawn. "This is the happiest vote I ever cast in my life."
Tens of thousands of people along the Atlantic coast, many of them in public housing projects, continued to scramble for housing options a week after the storm as nighttime temperatures remained near freezing and power had not yet returned.
A few desperate people even took to burning their furniture to stay warm.
And officials despaired at the news of yet another storm approaching the region today, smaller than Sandy but with the potential for more power outages, rising waters, heavy rain and gusts of up to 96 kph.
But housing was the most pressing problem.
Because so many people have been displaced, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order allowing people to vote in the elections at any polling place in the state.
New Jersey had already taken similar measures.
"Just because you are displaced doesn't mean you are disenfranchised," Cuomo said.
"Compared to what we have had to deal with in the past week, this will be a walk in the park when it comes to voting."
The campaigns of both President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney have long assumed that the heavily Democratic region would support Obama.
But voters were taking special election shuttles from storm-hit areas and voting by affidavit from any polling place they could reach after officials put emergency measures in place.
Early turnout appeared high, despite the hurdles. Some polling places were in tents, and some voters were in tears.
"Oh my God, I have been so anxious about being able to vote," said 73-year-old Annette DeBona of hard-hit Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, who was there at dawn. "This is the happiest vote I ever cast in my life."
Tens of thousands of people along the Atlantic coast, many of them in public housing projects, continued to scramble for housing options a week after the storm as nighttime temperatures remained near freezing and power had not yet returned.
A few desperate people even took to burning their furniture to stay warm.
And officials despaired at the news of yet another storm approaching the region today, smaller than Sandy but with the potential for more power outages, rising waters, heavy rain and gusts of up to 96 kph.
But housing was the most pressing problem.
Because so many people have been displaced, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order allowing people to vote in the elections at any polling place in the state.
New Jersey had already taken similar measures.
"Just because you are displaced doesn't mean you are disenfranchised," Cuomo said.
"Compared to what we have had to deal with in the past week, this will be a walk in the park when it comes to voting."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
