More Than 10,000 Pizzas Were Donated To Voters During The Midterm Elections
Americans not only showed how much they care about their vote during this years midterm elections but also how much they care about their fellow voters. According to Market Watch, over 10,000 pizzas were donated to those waiting in line to practice their civic duty.
The nonprofit organization Pizza to the Polls was responsible for the cheesy, delicious sustenance. They raised more than $376,000 through donations to fund the pies, which were delivered to 43 states across the country. The organization uses the pizza delivery app Slice to find pizzerias in the vicinity of polling stations facing long lines or technical difficulties. They also rely on people to help find long polling lines full of hungry voters.
The organization had more than $154,000 left in donations, Market Watch reported, which the Pizza to the Polls website says will go toward feeding hungry Americans voting or marching in the future.
Citizens and celebrities alike were all for the cause, posting about their donations on Twitter and, in doing so, finding yet another way to encourage their fellow Americans to vote in the midterm elections. The hot meal delivered directly to the polling places also meant Americans facing long waits to vote didn’t have to leave the lines when the pangs of hunger struck.
Alright folks, that's a wrap! Thank you so much to everyone who reported lines, donated, and most important, voted.
We close out the 2018 election with 10,005 pizzas sent to 576 polling places in 43 states.
There's no telling how many voters stayed in line because of ~you~ pic.twitter.com/jlB4QxEXaI
— Pizza to the Polls (@PizzaToThePolls) November 7, 2018
Cornell Law Professor Josh Chafetz tweeted about his donation of $100, which according to the Pizza to the Polls website would fund five pizzas.
“It may sound somewhat silly, but long lines at polling places are largely a result of attempts to disfranchise particular groups of voters,” Chafetz wrote in his post to social media. “Anything we can do to help people stay in line is, IMO, good for democracy.”
This week’s midterm elections were plagued with issues, including malfunctioning polling machines, lack of enough polling machines in general or hours-long lines. Voters in Prince George’s County, Maryland, for example, were left waiting long after polls were supposed to close at 8 p.m. on election night due to a shortage of paper ballots, WAMU reported on Tuesday. According to a spokesperson for the Prince George’s Board of Elections, voters were still casting ballots until 10 p.m. due to the shortage.
This isn’t even the whole line here in Prince George’s Co. where a ballot shortage has caused hours-long delays. We are told everyone in line will be able to vote. Appears to be very poor planning here. @fox5dc pic.twitter.com/8tS1dU9u8J
— Evan Lambert (@EvanLambertTV) November 7, 2018
A polling place in Brandywine, MD, part of Prince George’s County, which Fox 5 DC’s Evan Lambert reported had only one voting machine and no paper ballots, was one of the 576 polling places that were recipients of a hot meal from Pizza to the Polls.
UPDATE: People still in line in Prince George’s, but @pizzatothepolls came through. pic.twitter.com/g9QcdgRbwJ
— Evan Lambert (@EvanLambertTV) November 7, 2018
The organization said on Twitter that many people relayed to them how their deliveries “changed the entire mood” of the polling places and “legitimately helped people stay in line.”
“We’re so glad we could make a small difference,” they said.
