Maarten de Boer/NBCUniversal(NEW YORK) — New York kicked off its early voting period last weekend to a resounding success. Shortly after the polls opened on October 24, images of the long lines flooded the internet along with stories from voters regarding their hours-long wait to cast their ballot.
Leave it to Law and Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay to give voters stuck in the impressively long lines something to smile about. The actress on Tuesday rolled up to the Madison Square Garden polling location with arms full of sweet treats from Milk Bar.
The Emmy Award winner shared an adorable video of her sidling up to voters on Tuesday and excitedly thanking them for doing their civic duty before tossing them a packaged cookie from the acclaimed NYC-based bakery.
That small gesture delighted the crowd of social distancing voters, who broke out into smiles and laughter as the actress began excitedly shouting, “Booyah! Booyah!” with each cookie thrown.
“We all know this election is incredibly important, which is I why wanted to show up to support my fellow New Yorkers,” Hargitay expressed on her personal Instagram. “Lines are long and people are waiting for hours to exercise their civic duty-their right- so I wanted to surprise some voters at MSG with a little pick me up. It was the least I could do.”
Beyond thanking voters for their patience, Hargitay also expressed appreciation to the polling places.
“I’m thankful that sports teams and venues have opened their doors this year to make safe, socially-distanced early voting a reality for so many Americans,” the 56-year-old actress concluded. “It’s critical all of us make our voices heard.”
She closed out the post with the cheeky hashtag “#WhoSaysVotingIsntFun.”
By Megan Stone
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