2020 elections

Scenes From Your Election Day

“Graffiti in Park Slope. Brooklyn, New York. November 3rd, 2020.” Photo: Hayley Lohn

As we await the final count from several key battleground stateswe’re continuing to ask New York readers to share photos of their election experiences (just as we did earlier this year on the topic of life under lockdown). We published the first two galleries of submissions last week, and we hope you will continue to keep sending in your scenes — not just of voting and other signs of this momentous occasion, but also what you’re seeing as we all hunker down for the results and whatever happens next. We’ll keep updating this post with new images.

(There is only one important caveat: Please do not send photos of your or anyone else’s completed ballot or pictures from inside your polling place, as these images are banned in many states — including New York.) You can share your images with us by emailing them to scenes@nymag.com.

Photo: Elizabeth Stewart
Photo: Elizabeth Stewart
Photo: Elizabeth Stewart

“I took some black and white film photos capturing my voting experience of my four hour line that snaked around my neighborhood’s blocks, and also some portraits of voters.”

“A couple watches as the election results begin to be announced at the mostly empty bar Wicked Willy’s. Greenwich Village, New York. November 3rd, 2020.” Photo: Hayley Lohn
“Boarded up businesses. Manhattan, New York. November 3rd, 2020.” Photo: Hayley Lohn
“Police preparing for civil unrest on Tuesday afternoon at an empty Barclays Center. Brooklyn, New York. November 3rd, 2020.” Photo: Hayley Lohn
“Kamala Harris and Joe Biden action figures in a shop’s display. Brooklyn, New York. November 3rd, 2020.” Photo: Hayley Lohn
Sara-Jean Redfield and Baby Jack in New York City. Photo: Sara-Jean Redfield

“As afraid as I was to vote in person at seven months pregnant, I was more afraid not to. We voted in the rain,” says Sara-Jean Redfield, who is also pictured above.

Madison Square Garden, New York City. Photo: Michael Strassheim

Reader Michael was the first person to send in a photo of New York’s artist “I voted” stickers in the wild — and has a great story of how he came to be wearing one:

“My partner Denis and I met on 34th Street to get in line to vote at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. We were in line for about an hour and a half. While we waited, a few homeless people approached us and asked for money (I gave one of them $5), a woman stopped to ask if her voting place was the same for early voting as it was for November 3 (we told her it probably wasn’t and that she should check), and Denis recognized one of the poll workers as a Broadway conductor he’s worked with several times (as Broadway professionals, we are all out of work due to the coronavirus shutdown of our industry).

As we got closer to entering the Garden, I asked the woman behind us, who’d been reading the current issue of New York, if she wouldn’t mind sharing one of her stickers from the cover. She and the people within earshot all thought I was crazy, that they weren’t real stickers, but she started picking at it, and lo and behold they were. She said to me, ‘Sure! You want a gay one? How about the cowboy?’ I happily obliged.

That lovely (and observant) woman is pictured in the background. I’m grateful for the sticker share, and I love her bag.”

New York City. Photo: Jessica Apgar

“I’ve been waiting for this day since November 9, 2016. It was fast, safe, and professional — so grateful for all the volunteers at P.S. 811 for making voting on the UWS a breeze.”

New York City. Photo: Scott Jehl

“Voted. Took 3 hours.”

Photo: Rachel Amar
Los Angeles. Photo: Alissa Walker

“Only in L.A. can you vote at a polling place with the best view of the city *and* pick up some World Series merchandise while you’re there.”

New York City. Photo: Martin Valderruten

“Voting like my life depends on it!”

Queens, New York City. Photo: Daniela Nanau

“Voted with my wonderful daughter in Queens NYC today.”

Dyker Heights, Brooklyn. Photo: Stephanie Spruyt

“Voted today in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn. Wore my RBG pearls and made sure my voice was heard.”

Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Photo: Sylvia Cuadrado

“No line, no wait in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. I would say my polling place was ‘bustling,’ though. There was a good vibe in there. It was a ghost town in 2016.”

Rockville, Maryland. Photo: Rachel Black

“Voted early, in person, easy! Channeling RBG as I cast my ballot after waiting four long years. Crushed that we lost her too soon, but proud to honor her memory.”

New York City. Photo: Elise Nakhnikian

“The lightweight camp chair I sat in whenever we weren’t moving kept my aging back happy, and the line moved surprisingly fast to my early polling place on East 25th.”

New York City. Photo: Alexis Axelrad

“Feeling a little guilty that I had zero wait on Friday a.m. at the 25th and First early polling station, likely due to the rain and cold, but felt such a wonderful kick of adrenaline after. Been waiting so long for this day, and I pray semblance of sanity back in the White House.”

Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York City. Photo: Nicole Gallagher

“It moved like a Swiss watch in there. No line. No wait!”

San Rafael, California. Photo: Glenda Sharp

“West Coast drop-box voter.”

New York City. Photo: Jacquelyn Easterwood
New York City. Photo: Jacquelyn Easterwood
Woodstock, New York. Photo: Sheila Isenberg

“Waiting in line.”

Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York. Photo: Nora Crotty

“My boyfriend is from Pakistan, and this was his first time being able to vote as an American citizen — very exciting! My rabbit Croissant was equally excited to chew on his sticker after.”

Thanks again to everyone who has sent in their images and stories. You can view more in the previous galleries in the series. And we hope you will continue to share your own scenes with us by emailing them to scenes@nymag.com.

Scenes From Your Election Day