Ballots missing from Amityville polling place for hours

Voters called News 12 when they say poll workers told them ballots for the 65th District were not there. This happened shortly after the precinct opened at 6 a.m. Tuesday.

Jon Dowding

Nov 5, 2024, 5:34 PM

Updated 16 days ago

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Amityville voters were at the Northeast Elementary School polling place when it opened, but their ballots were not.
Voters called News 12 when they say poll workers told them ballots for the 65th District were not there. This happened shortly after the precinct opened at 6 a.m. Tuesday.
Dionne Brissett, of North Amityville, says they were told the ballots would arrive in 10 minutes. Those ballots finally arrived after 8 a.m., but many voters had already left by then. 
"You had people that leave because people had to go to work and of course, there was a time when they said, 'You could leave and come back later.' And I said, 'I'm not leaving, I'm voting,'" said Brissett.
Elgin Jiggetts, of North Amityville, got in the line before the precinct opened and was one of those who had to leave because the ballots didn’t arrive. 
"I don't know where our ballots are,” he said. “I don't know how an accident like this could even happen."
News 12 reached out to the Suffolk Board of Elections asking why those ballots weren't at the precinct when it opened. As of this posting, News 12 is waiting to hear back.