BUCKTOWN/WICKER PARK — The line to vote at the Bucktown-Wicker Park library was hundreds of people deep around 4 p.m. Monday, as voters snaked in and out of the bookshelf aisles and crammed a stairway leading up to the second floor, where the polls are located.
The library at 1701 N. Milwaukee Ave. is scheduled to remain open until 7 p.m. Monday, when early voting at designated sites in all 50 wards and at 15 W. Washington St., ends.
On Tuesday, voters will need to cast their votes at their regular polling spot beginning at 6 a.m.
A security worker at the library, who said that the line had been long all day Monday, with waits averaging between 45 minutes and an hour, said that as long as people are in line at 7 p.m., they will not be turned away.
Melia Berkemeir, a 29-year-old Bucktown resident, said she decided to participate in early voting because she is new to the city and also needs to register to vote.
"I thought [lines] would be this long tomorrow and not today. I am a little surprised, but it is part of the privilege of voting," Berkemeir said.
Others in the line appeared to be passing the wait time by looking at their cellphones, talking on their phone or chatting with others.
Long lines to vote #wickerpark #bucktown library #POTUS2016 pic.twitter.com/ZYSJEijIMu
— Alisa Hauser (@DNA_WPB) November 7, 2016
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