Local Dominican voters say they encountered disorder at polling site in Norwood

Sunday was the general election for the Dominican Republic and local Dominican citizens faced confusion and long lines at a polling site in the Norwood section of the Bronx.

News 12 Staff

Jul 5, 2020, 11:23 PM

Updated 1,558 days ago

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Sunday was the general election for the Dominican Republic and local Dominican citizens faced confusion and long lines at a polling site in the Norwood section of the Bronx.
Dominicans who live in New York are able to cast ballots for elections taking place back home, but that wasn't the case for many at the site. Ballots took hours to arrive Sunday morning, prompting allegations of voter suppression.
Some showed up as early as 6:30 a.m. and left at 2 p.m.
According to some who showed up to cast their ballots, they were turned away because their "Cedula," their government identification in the Dominican Republic, was not in the system in order for them to vote. Those who were in the system, however, said tables and booths were not even ready inside the polling place.
A person working the tables who spoke with News 12 blamed the Board of Elections and alleged that the Dominican Republic controls the local Board of Elections and purposely delayed the arrival of the ballots.
"The Board of Elections don't make a good job. It's manipulated, the board of elections in the United States," voter Rhadames Marte said.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat's office released a statement, which reads in part: "Congressman Espaillat was active in the community today and met with several constituents who participated in today's vote. We are closely monitoring this situation and have alerted authorities. The congressman will continue his efforts to protect the right to vote for Dominicans abroad and across the Diaspora."
The current governing political party in the Dominican Republic is the Dominican Liberation Party. An overwhelming majority of the voters told News 12 they want change and voted for the opposition, the Modern Revolutionary Party.