Photo credit: Michael Hnatov
Accession Number: C.2014.247.2
Dimensions: Unavailable
Credit Line: Collection 9/11 Memorial Museum
Description
Lever-style voting machine with a large American flag sticker on the exterior. The machine opens like a cabinet and has a public counter indicating the number of votes which had been cast on the morning of 9/11 and a lever signifying which political party had been selected for the last-cast vote. Accompanying the machine is instructions in both English and Spanish explaining how to operate it.
Historical Notes
On the morning of September 11, 2001, polling stations in New York City opened at 6:00 a.m. Primary elections were being held for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, and other city offices. Later that morning, after the terrorist attacks began to unfold, Governor Pataki mandated the closing of the polls and suspension of the election.
In lower Manhattan, the polling stations near the World Trade Center became inaccessible. Two of the lever-style voting machines in use on the morning of September 11 came into the 9/11 Memorial Museum's custody in 2014 via the New York City Board of Elections. This machine was salvaged from the lobby of the World Financial Center and sustained visible damage to its metal exterior from the collapse of the Twin Towers.