Watch CBS News

M-D Early Voter: I Waited "Over Six" Hours To Vote

MIAMI-DADE (CBSMiami) – Thousands of Miami-Dade voters took advantage of the final day of early voting Saturday.

According to the Supervisor of Elections website, several locations posted wait times as long as six hours.

At the Coral Reef Library, the wait was listed as 4 hours, but Arpa Kahn said she waited more than six.

"It was exhausting," Kahn said of her first voting experience. "I don't have time to vote on election day. So today was my last chance to vote."

Kahn was one of hundreds of people who stood in this line at the Coral Reef Library Saturday.

Juanita Morales also waited for her turn to cast her ballot, all while connected to an oxygen tank.

She said she waited more than 4 hours to vote.

Voters were prepared with umbrellas, folding chairs and water.

One woman even swapped her high heels for sneakers to make the wait a bit more comfortable.

"I knew it was going to be a long wait and I knew it was going to be hot," Kimberly Floyd said.

As of Saturday morning, more than 196,000 people had voted early in Miami-Dade.

Israel Velez voted at the Miami Lakes location. He said he didn't vote in 2008, but didn't want to do the same thing this year.

"These lines are 5.5 hours waiting today and this was supposed to be early," Velez said.

The early voting process has not been without issues.

Democratic Congresswoman Frederica Wilson said she alerted federal authorities to a potential problem at the North Miami Public Library location.

"What was called in to my office was political operatives," Wilson said. "They were guiding them to vote Republican."

Now the Department of Justice has been called in to monitor early voting in Miami-Dade.

"We have to be careful," Wilson said. "Florida is on the line today. And Tuesday. We'll be out there."

Congresswoman Wilson was also upset Governor Rick Scott did not extend early voting to Sunday despite the long lines.

Tell us your early voting experience on CBS4's Facebook page.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.