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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. What kind of unique Election Day is this? Tweet after the last segment. Listener rights. Never thought I could hear Brian Lehrer talk about YG, yet here we are. Our next caller question for our Informal, Unofficial, Thoroughly, Unscientific Election Day exit poll who listening right now is in a split candidate household. How's that going? 646-435-7280. As your calls are coming in, with us for a few minutes is WNYC City Hall and politics reporter Brigid Bergin. Hey, Brigid?

Brigid Bergin: Good morning, Brian.

Brian: Where are you?

Brigid: I am in Rockaway.

Brian: Is there any news? I know you're at the Rockaway Bureau.

Brigid: Exactly.

Brian: Is there any news yet today that you're processing from the Bureau?

Brigid: From the Bureau, we are getting lots and lots of tips. I've been hearing from voters since before six o'clock this morning as they started lining up outside their poll sites. As we often do on Election Day, we have heard stories about poll sites that didn't open on time because anything from the police who are assigned to the site didn't show up with the keys, the election coordinator didn't show up, some spotty instances of that.

We've also heard about some technical issues with some instances of machines being down, some instances with poll pads having some problems, some instances where the wrong ballots were delivered to a site. None of these are good things. None of these are on their own exceptional things.

Unfortunately, when you were running an election the size of what we'd have here in New York City with now 1,200 poll sites and run by individuals who are working often one maybe a handful of times through the year, there are problems. That's no excuse. We definitely want to hear about them. We want to hear your stories and we will look for issues that particularly seem systemic.

During the primary in June, one of the things when some of these poll sites opened late that happened was the board was made aware of it and they actually extended the hours at a couple of locations because so many people were not able to vote. Those are the types of things we definitely want to hear about, but we will also try to help put in context to the extent that we can.

Brian: The really ominous thing that we already heard from one caller today, besides whatever candidates people are dreading is the spectrum of violence breaking out for any reason and from any camp. How is the city preparing?

Brigid: We know that tensions are high. The NYPD has done multiple briefings including some comments from Chief Terrence Monahan just yesterday about how the NYPD will have more officers out to monitor what is happening throughout the city. I think at this point, they're always police that were assigned to poll sites, that's a normal part of elections in the city. They are also saying that they are aware and monitoring people who they suspect could cause additional problems related to protests and we'll be available to respond.

There's also comments that they do not anticipate the response to be like what we saw in June during some of those really violent protests that we saw across the city. I think for voters and for New Yorkers, the other side of that is what can feel unnerving is seeing how some businesses are preparing. There are stores that have boarded-up windows. I think a lot of that is much a response to things that we saw earlier this year, more so than intelligence that they have about things that are anticipated in the aftermath of this election. I think very much during today and--

Today is going to be about the voting and there may be other things to watch for in the days ahead. For voters, specifically at poll sites, it's important to know that there are eyes and ears that are out there watching to ensure instances of voter intimidation or just questions and problems are identified and answered. We can talk some more about what voters can do if they are experiencing anything outside of poll sites specifically.

Brian: Let me ask you about one particular problem that I think you've reported on that people may be experiencing today, even a conundrum for some people, and the situation is this. "I sent away for an absentee ballot, I filled out my absentee ballot and mailed it in, but it's never been verified. I've looked on the tracker and it never got registered. What do I do? Do I go and vote on Election Day?"

Brigid: A couple of things to keep in mind. For one, this absentee ballot tracker was a "innovation" that the Board of Elections rolled out for the first time ahead of this election, in part as a response to what happened during the June primary when so many folks just felt like they were mailing their absentee ballot into a void. It's technology that exists in many other states. The fact that they were able to stand this up so quickly is in part a good thing, but we have heard multiple reports of people who mailed their ballot days ago and they're still not seeing the absentee ballot tracker updating to indicate that the board has received their ballot.

The good news and the bad news is today is Election Day. The polls are still open. If you mailed meaning, put that absentee ballot into a USPS box, mailed your absentee ballot back to the Board of Elections, and it's still is not showing that it has been received by the board, today is the day that you have to decide whether you want to go out to the poll site. If you have the ability and your health concerns don't prohibit you from doing that, you still have that option in New York, even if you mailed your absentee ballot.

If you dropped your absentee ballot off at one of the dropboxes at an early voting site or at an Election Day poll site and the tracker doesn't reflect that it's been received yet, that is something to be less concerned about because you know you gave it to the Board of Elections. Now, obviously, we are speaking to a process that is brand new, but that is the equivalent of dropping your absentee ballot off at a Board of Elections office, putting it into those boxes.

At this point, we know that the board has far more absentee ballots than they are used to dealing with in a normal election. That volume issue alone is part of the reason why the tracker is not updated as real-time as we would like it. To your original question if you mailed that absentee ballot, if you put it in the mail, and it doesn't say it's been received yet, today is the day that you need to decide, do you want to go and cast your ballot? If you can, that's the one way to know with certainty that your vote is being counted.

Brian: WNYC City Hall and politics reporter Brigid Bergin. Brigid, thanks for checking in, and thanks for the advice for people in that situation. Thank you.

Brigid: Thank you, Brian.

Brian: Again, listeners, if you have tips about anything going on locally at the polls, send them to tips@gothamist.com. That's an email address, tips@gothamist.com, or find WNYC or Gothamist on social media, any of our various feeds, and you can direct message us or posted however you want there as well. All right. Now to your calls on who listening right now is in a split candidate household.

If you're voting for one candidate, or one way on a ballot question, or anything else, and your spouse, or partner, or roommate, or parents or kids, or whoever you live with is voting for the other one, tell us the reasons for each of you and how has it been navigating that divide during lockdown. Latest question in our Informal, Unofficial, Thoroughly, Unscientific Election Day exit poll. Kathy in Riverside County, California. You're on WNYC, Kathy. Hello from New York. Thank you so much for calling in.

Kathy: Hi, Brian, long time listener, first-time caller.

Brian: Glad you're on. Happy Election Day. Who's in your split candidate household?

Kathy: I live with my parents and my sister. My parents are both really big Trump supporters, my mom actually-- They both immigrated from China. My sister and I were born here. My mom has been in this country for over 30 years and she voted for the first time and for Trump. At first, I think we tried really hard to try to talk to them and try to change their minds but realized that that was just not a productive thing to do.

Now, I think my sister and I and also with other first-generation Asian immigrant families have just tried to understand why they hold those types of views. Absolutely I read an NBC article. [crosstalk]

Brian: No, I was just going to ask you why, give us your take on your parents take after you've had all these unproductive persuasion conversations.

Kathy: There's a somewhat big language and culture barrier. I think even obviously I can talk to my parents, there's a lot of things in politics and in policy that either of us don't have the language for it, on top of that in terms of cultural sensitivity, both my parents grew up in downtown Shanghai at the height of the cultural revolution and so we were talking with another friend who his parents are also Trump supporters also grew up in the same city as my parents did at the same time.

We do feel like in a sense there is some generational trauma that primed them to the kinds of propaganda that Trump poses, which is why I think media literacy is so important for people of the older generation, and the article I was mentioning earlier it was an NBC article called binded by blood where it talks about Indian American sources, I think it was Vietnamese-Americans I might be getting this wrong, but they discussed the-- Are correlated the education levels of both subgroups with their political leanings.

There's a lot of different factors, definitely education, definitely like where your media news sources are coming from and on top of that, obviously how you were raised in what environment because I do think in terms of having been susceptible to that, there's a tendency to repeat that as counterintuitive at that scene.

Brian: So interesting, Kathy, thank you so much for that call. Jameela in Brooklyn. You're on WNYC. Hi, Jameela.

Jameela: Hi, Brian.

Brian: Hey, Jameela.

Jameela: Brian, can you hear me?

Brian: It's pretty loud there so speak right into your phone and do your best.

Jameela: Sorry about that. Hi, I'm actually at my election site ready to vote.

Brian: Oh, wow. [crosstalk]

Jameela: I'm at PS 203 in Brooklyn, New York. I'm in a somewhat split household in the sense that my partner he's a Russian and I'm Caribbean, Trinidadian to be exact but we are going to vote in the same direction. However, his parents, his brother we're not too sure where they are heading if you know what I mean. In addition to that, he's also very close with some neighbors who have actually decided not to vote, and then I have friends in my Caribbean community, male friends who have also decided not to vote.

They has always been a source of tension amongst us when we have dinners or we are hanging out and we start to discuss the voting situation and what we intend to do, but some how we've managed to maneuver it and remain friendly still, but it's been very challenging because we want to maintain our friendship, but we still want to enlighten and educate them. It's just been really tough, but I'm here. I'm excited today. I'm happy that I got through to you because we're big fans of your show. I'm very exhilarated to go vote for the first time actually in a federal election because I actually made sure I got my citizenship so I can vote in this election.

Brian: Congratulations on that Jameela. You want to talk about that for a second before you go, how does it feel to be a newly naturalized citizen first-time voter?

Jameela: I'm so excited when I actually went for my citizenship, you get to know all your rights, you get to know a little bit of the history. I took the whole lessons that you had to learn for the exams very seriously. I felt it's so important to exercise this duty. We took it with my fellow Caribbean and Trinidadians, it's like it's so important to let them know what people have gone through before and how important their vote counts. I don't think that it has gotten through, but I continue to say, exercise your rights. Let your voice be heard by your votes, it counts.

Brian: Jameela, I'm so glad you're getting your first shot to let your voice be heard in a presidential election in this country. Don't make this your last call to the show. Okay.

Jameela: Absolutely. Thank you, Brian.

Brian: Thank you very much. How about Gwen in Manhattan you're on WNYC. Hi Gwen, happy Election Day.

Gwen: Happy Election Day to you too. I drove all the way home from Cape May, New Jersey, where my parents live yesterday and voted this morning so it's done. What I'm calling to tell you about is the incredible split in my family. We had our first split when Trump ran, but it's taken on a new turn. My family is four girls and one boy.

My brother is a very staunch Republican, which is strange. He grew up-- My mother is very politically active. She's in the civil rights movement. My husband was Black, but my brother is-- even in Pennsylvania, we are originally from Pennsylvania and Joe Biden, by the way, was a pretty close friend of my sister's in high school and that was very amazing that she went to [unintelligible 00:16:20] the other day and she spoke to the people there. That was exciting, but that did not sway my brother. My brother is going to vote for Trump again.

I myself have lived through two weeks ago of terror in Cape May, New Jersey. When a Trump train came through the town and it included the local fire trucks and it appeared that the police were actually escorting them in a way to participate. The cars were going into oncoming traffic and the police were just allowing that to happen. Some of the motorcycles ran the red lights almost causing accidents.

I will tell you, it's very, very intimidating because in a small town like this when something like this happens-- If you can't call the police and you can't call the fire department, who do you call? That's why I think this is so chilling. In my own family though, one of my sisters has gotten so upset about this and so fearful. She lives in Florida, that she is contemplating buying a gun to protect herself.

She had such a fight with my brother that she wished him and his family nothing good. She basically had this feeling like if they weren't here and none of this would be happening and that's a terrible thing for a family to come down to. My family is also split. We are Protestant and Catholic. My extended family who is all Catholic, who has 13 children, every single one of them and their children will all be voting for Trump and they live in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. They're originally from Philadelphia,

Brian: Your one family could tip the whole country, you realize that?

Gwen: Right, that's exactly-- We're all from Pennsylvania originally. It's so weird because Jill is also from Pennsylvania in this small town where we're from.

Brian: Let me ask you one thing Gwen, I have to go onto some other callers. Was it always like this in your family? Like there were plenty of divisions in the Bush years, for example, where we had call-ins in those days on like your red and blue Thanksgiving and things like that at the beginning of the Iraq war and at other times, was it always like this in your family or is this unique?

Gwen: I will never tell you that Thanksgiving was pleasant in our family. We all finally had to roll up the windows and say, "We're not going to talk politics at the table." I have never heard one of my siblings say about the other sibling and the family, the things got said and I know that my brother is off on his own trip too. I got to tell you originally many years ago, my father's family is from the South and my great-grandfather was in the civil war. My mother is from Philadelphia.

We're all acutely aware of what could happen, but we're watching it in real-time. We're watching sisters and brothers actually get to the point where they're so juiced up and terrified. When I saw the Trumpsters in Cape May, it almost was like they were high on cocaine. They were so juiced up. A man in the dollar store almost punched me out because I said I was voting for Biden. People really do step for this election, particularly on that side. I think Democrats are sorry, frankly, I'm Democrat, but we were a little more sheepish in that. I don't see us coming to the forefront like that, but I think--

Brian: If you're talking about not intimidating other people in their face, maybe that's a good thing, but Gwen, I'm going to leave it there. Thank you so much for that disturbing story. I hope there is peace in your family going forward we really appreciate you calling in Murray and Queens you're on WNYC. Hey Murray, thank you for calling happy Election Day.

Murray: Hello. Okay. Wow, for me, you know what? This year I voted for Howie Hawkins. My wife, she voted for Joe Biden, but it doesn't cost very much problems where we live.

Brian: Just so people know because people don't know the Green party candidates name that much this year, Howie Hawkins is the Green party candidate for president. The split household you live in is Green Party/Democrat.

Murray: That's right. We're a little more left leading in this house in Queens. Yes. Well, I mean, I'm a little bit annoyed though, because you haven't been talking about Howie very much in your show.

Brian: Howie hasn't been a thing as much in the world this year as Jill Stein was in 2016. Murray, tell us why you think that is if you think that that's-- Because all the other policies to indicate that one of the reasons that Biden might win today while Hillary Clinton lost is that there isn't the turnout for the Green party candidate that there was in 2016. You be the pundit. Why is that going on?

Murray: I think that my wife, she's the one who fills me in a little bit more on what the Democrats are thinking more so the liberals. She says that it's got to do with the fact that there's the plurality issue, the issue of plurality, they need more votes. That way if there's more people voting for Biden, then there's a greater chance that Trump will concede. That's the bad whole water, correct?

Brian: Yes. Are you worried at all that if enough people vote for Howie Hawkins and enough swing States that Trump could be elected again, is that a disturbing enough scenario to you? Maybe you can do this because you're in Queens, so it doesn't matter. If you were in Wisconsin, would that be a disturbing enough scenario for you to not vote Howie Hawkins?

Murray: Truthfully they're both a little bit objectionable Biden and Trump, in different ways and very different ways. I think that Howie he's the good choice. He's the one who cares about-- He's the writer of the Green New Deal. He believes in the planet. Look, I'm a union worker and I believe that we got to be moving over to green jobs. We got to be moving over to green technology. Enough with this from the Democrats.

It's like, it's a terrible, terrible idea. The thought of Trump getting in, it makes me sick. It makes my wife sick and it makes every one of our friends sick. But you know what? The Dems are not moving further enough to the left. I heard that last segment, that woman she said that Republicans are getting up in people's faces and the screaming at them. I don't see enough liberals getting in people's faces and saying like, "Do you care that this planet is melting?" I don't hear that.

Brian: Murray, thank you so much for reporting from your split Green Party Democratic Party household. That's our call-in for people splitting your tickets from under the same roof. Thank you for that.

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