NEW YORK - Since Saturday, New Yorkers have been standing in line for hours to participate in early voting. On Wednesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio was one of them. He waited roughly three hours to cast his vote at a polling site in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

His wait was filled with pizza and a little pain.

“Lower back, my lower back is feeling it for sure, but we’re sticking with it," the mayor said. 

The long wait helped to prove his point about the need to completely overhaul the New York City Board of Elections.

Speaking to NY1’s Gloria Pazmino while in line, de Blasio again blasted the BOE, which responded to ongoing criticism by announcing Tuesday that it would be expanding polling hours later this week.

“Every site, the hours should be expanded immediately, especially for this weekend," the mayor said. "More staff, more machines, whatever it takes because people are trying to perform a sacred responsibility. And look, three hours in line, that's crazy.”

 

 

Earlier Tuesday, de Blasio went even further in his criticism of the BOE.

"End it, don't mend it. We cannot work with this board anymore. We need a brand new structure. Make it a modern agency; make sure it's fair, of course. Whether it's a state agency, a city agency - we're going to give a proposal to the governor. I want to work with him; I want to find the solution. We got to have something that's going to make it better for next year,” he said.

Early voters wrapped around the block of 15th Street and 7th Avenue where the Park Slope Armory YMCA is.

The mayor was met by hecklers telling him to get in line like everybody else. That’s when he walked to 16th Street where the end of the line was.

“Everyone else is waiting and they do it because they care and want to make their voices heard. I admire everyone in this line and I’m gonna join them," the mayor said.

Poll workers say this is the longest line they have seen since early voting started Saturday.

Some people showed up early to this location only to learn the polling site would not open until 12 p.m.

Early voting sites will be open from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. this Friday, October 30th and Saturday October 31st. They will be open from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. this Sunday, November 1st - which is the last day for early voting.

Some exceptions could be made if the sites cannot accommodate the extended hours.

The Board of Elections says more than 314,000 ballots have been cast in the city so far.