People who showed up to vote at Century Village in Deerfield Beach faced a long line of cars just to get into the gated community to cast their ballot. Now, some voters and an election worker are calling for change.
Some voters complained to NBC 6 Investigators they had to wait for close to an hour in their cars to get past the security gate. Once they got onto the property, it only took a few minutes to vote.
“We were backed up about a half mile before we even made the turn into Century Village,” said voter Raymond Steele. “It took us 45 minutes to get inside to vote."
Once the NBC 6 Investigators showed up, the lines moved more quickly as security worked to get people onto the property off Powerline Road.
Thousands of people from three precincts are registered to vote at the Century Village location.
An elections clerk said she was furious to see the long lines and called voting inside a gated community voter suppression.
“I’m disgusted and I think it needs to be changed,” said Rosemarie Reed with precinct A003. “I really am begging for somebody out there who has the authority to changes this."
However, a Deerfield Beach commissioner who represents the district and lives in the gated community said checking in was a needed safety measure and a minor inconvenience.
“It’s just a limited one lane in and it takes a little time and you have to have some patience,” said Commissioner Bernie Parness.
A continuous line of traffic formed outside the community’s gates until polls closed at 7 p.m.
The Broward County Supervisor of Elections Dr. Brenda Snipes said the lines at Century Village is the only major issue reported today to her office and that she sent workers to help expedite the process and speed up the line once notified. She said she’s going to take a closer look at the precinct and consider options to improve the voting location in the future.
“If it’s going to be a barrier then we’re going to have to look at other options,” said Dr. Snipes.
