Long lines at polling places on Election Day are a good thing. So many people exercising their right to vote represents democracy in action.
Of course more people showing up at the polls to have a say in how they wish to be governed and what kind of society they wish to live in means longer lines and a longer wait to vote, not to mention more responsibilities for the poll workers logging 12- to14-hour days. And if you’re waiting in a long line to vote on an empty stomach, you’re bound to get hangry at some point.
That’s where Pizza to the Polls comes in. With the help of donors and a nationwide network of volunteers, the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization provides free pizza and other snacks to voters waiting in long lines on Election Day.
While they can’t do anything to speed up the voting process, Pizza to the Polls Executive Director Nina Kadjar said the organization can at least help make the wait more enjoyable.
“Voting, working an election, participating in democracy—it should not be a frustrating experience,” Kadjar said. “We’ve all shown up somewhere, had to stand in a really long line and it wasn’t a good feeling. Even the small act of getting a slice of pizza and sharing a meal with a stranger in line in front of you, having a conversation, makes that experience a lot more joyful.”
The first delivery
Pizza to the Polls began the weekend before Election Day in 2016 when Portland, Oregon-based software developer Scott Duncombe saw a report on the news about Cleveland residents waiting in line for hours to vote early. So Duncombe placed an order with a Cleveland pizzeria to have food delivered to the polling place.
Within hours, Pizza to the Polls was up and running, with Duncombe fielding reports of long voting lines across the country through social media and having pizza delivered to those locations. By Election Day, he’d raised $10,000 in donations and recruited volunteers to order and coordinate the delivery of more than 2,000 pizzas to over 100 polling places across 24 states.
Since 2016, Kadjar said Pizza to the Polls has sent over 100,000 pizzas and fed over 1 million people nationwide at over 6,000 polling locations and nonpartisan events focused on voter education and registration. In Pennsylvania, the organization has fed voters at about 600 polling locations in approximately 200 cities and towns, and partnered with other nonpartisan organizations to provide food at civic engagement events held at Northampton Community College, Community College of Beaver County, Community College of Philadelphia, and other colleges across the state.
How it works
If you’re on a very long line at a polling place or are aware of one, you can go to the ‘Send Pizza’ tab on the Pizza to the Polls website, enter the address of the polling location, along with your contact information to help coordinate the distribution of the pizza once the delivery person arrives. You must also provide photo or video proof that the wait in the line is at least an hour long (Kadjar said they’re able to calculate how long a wait is by looking at the line).
Even if you don’t come across a long line, you can help get pizza to the polls by making a tax-deductible donation.
When it comes to the pizza deliveries, Kadjar said they adhere to strict election compliance laws wherever they operate by staying outside of restricted zones, following instructions from poll workers and election officials. (Pizza to the Polls does not operate in Georgia because of the 2021 state law that made it illegal to hand out food or water to people standing in line to vote.)
The pizza is first come, first served, to whoever wants a slice.
“The pizza is for literally everybody,” Kadjar explained. “It’s for voters, it’s for poll watchers, poll workers, even for anybody who’s walking by if they want a slice.”
Heading into their eleventh Election Day of feeding hungry voters and poll workers, Kadjar said the organization has received plenty of feedback over the years regarding how a simple slice of pizza can make a positive impact for everyone enduring a long day at the polls.
“We’ve had a lot of stories from poll workers who have been on their feet since 6 a.m. and haven’t had anything to eat, the pizza arrives and it’s like the only thing they’ve had all day after working for countless hours,” Kadjar said.
“We’ve had stories about a machine being broken and folks getting really frustrated as the line is getting longer and longer by the minute. And if it’s cold outside, that adds to the frustration. Then the pizza arrives, people start talking to each other in line. They weren’t talking before, and suddenly it becomes a much more communal experience. That’s the whole purpose of Pizza to the Polls.”
