WILKES-BARRE — Today’s general election has local residents, as well as Wilkes students, flocking to the polls.

As expected, lines across the various polling places in Wilkes-Barre were long. In Plains Twp, Pa., voters waited in line for more than 30 minutes. Voters spoken to said that they had no issues with the voting process.

 At the Hollenback Golf Course in Wilkes-Barre, lines seemed to be small at around 10 a.m. Much like other locations around the Wilkes-Barre area, lines were longer in the morning, with people trying to beat the lines before they went to work. 

At one point in the morning, the Toyota Sportsplex experienced almost non-existent lines. It was the same at the St. Aloysius Church in Wilkes-Barre,

a new polling place in the city. Voting for wards 15 and 16 was previously held at Kistler Elementary School in the south section of the city. The polling location was changed earlier this year. 

 Kathleen, a Wilkes-Barre resident, said that she saw a lot of voters at the location.

“Voter turnout today has been tremendous. I got here this morning at quarter to seven, and the line was around the corner. I haven’t heard of any issues,” she said. 

On the Wilkes University campus, the Marts gym is a polling center for Ward 12 and Ward 13. Wilkes faculty member Griffin Schmoyer was one of the voters there.

 “Honestly I had no issues voting. The process was incredibly smooth and the wait time was not as bad as I expected. 

I got there a little before 8 a.m., so I was assuming a lot of people who had to get to work would also be in line,” he said. 

Elsewhere in the county, there have been reports of at least one borough that had voting issues. In Laflin, voters were unable to cast their ballots until almost an hour and a half after the polls were supposed to open.

For more information regarding the 2024 general election, check www.thewilkesbeacon.com throughout the election evening.