Long lines stretch past poll close in Prince George's County after ballot delays

We want to start off in Prince George's County this evening because we are hearing that there have been some long lines to get into the polls. Even though polls closed at eight o'clock, there were still people in line past eight o'clock. And that's where Fox 5 Shamari Stone is. He joins us now live from Prince George's County. Shamari, what's the latest? Well right now I'm here in the Laurel Beltsview Senior Activity Center and this is where people have been lining up and approximately 50 people are still in line outside and right now they are coming in here we're bringing you closer and they are casting their ballots this is a very intense We're going to have a lot of events. Voting, election, here you have the midterms and people are telling me that there are a lot of issues, but the top thing they're concerned about, they tell me, is affordability. They're determined voters. These are important decisions and they want to make sure that their voices are heard in the 2022 midterm elections from the rising cost of living. Healthcare, immigration, one guy tells me that he's tired of the high gas prices, another man told me that he wants the war with Iran to come to a complete end, and he doesn't like the direction of the country. These are what the voters who were in line were telling me. But I have a really interesting interview for you. This woman, her name is Ms. Alta, you can come here for a second. You're a poll worker, and you have been doing this for 20 years, you say. I'm going to turn this way for me. 20 years, look at me. Thank you. Thank you. What are you seeing this year in comparison Thank you. Thank you. to over the past 20 years of you doing this? Well, you know it always depends on who's running and who the person of choice might be. But this year we see the intensity and the determination for every single person to get out and cast their vote. And what are you hearing in terms of issues that people are really caring about? We're not hearing much because we're really just taking their information, giving them the information that gives them the authority to vote. And we really, as poll workers, we're not allowed to really discuss any of the political issues that they may have. Right now there's 50 people still in line. The polls closed at 8 o'clock. We're now just after 9. Everyone in line will, in fact, be able to vote. That is correct. The last person in line was in line at 8 o'clock and I think two or three people came afterwards, 8:05, wanted to get in line and we explained that we follow the laws to the letter. The state of Maryland asked that we close the polls promptly at 8 o'clock. But it also says that anyone who is in line at the time of closing should have the right to vote and we made sure that everybody that was in line is voting tonight. Well, I want to thank you for joining us. Were there any issues with the paper ballots earlier today at all? We had a small issue. Thank you. We received some ballots that had a very similar number to ours, and the machine let us know that they were not correct, so they spit them back. So we had to wait a little bit for ours to get here. Remember, this was an early voting center. And there are a lot of people who thought they could vote with any poll. So they're used to getting any ballot here. There are 236 polls, I do believe, in precincts in Prince George's County. So we just had to wait our turn to get our votes. Well, I want to thank you for joining us on Fox 5, and I appreciate you. Thank you. All right, great job. Pleasure, pleasure. Bye-bye. So there you have it, folks. We have around, what, 50 people still in line, and once they cast their ballot, this... The place will close and they will count the votes. I'm Shamari Stone, back to you in the studio.