Some bad actor employers or supervisors may exert pressure upon the employee to not leave that day. There's a great many methods to force people to do something yet still stay within the word of a given law. Especially in those states that have the "at will" employment law, because you could be fired for sneezing incorrectly and have no legal recourse.

That, of course, is another subject for another day.

State by state. Many do not. In most where it is offered the time is limited (2 hours typically), which with long lines and travel time may not be enough. It is also unpaid time.

I live in a tiny precinct and thus lack perspective, but the wait time is pretty solvable by spending money.

Yeah, I get that.

But wealthy New York City, where Democrats run the election commission, was a notable shit show in the recent election.

Dealing with the unequal provision of resources is a big deal, I don't mean to dismiss it, it just isn't the only issue.

New York is also really bad about registering people.

It's absolutely about a failure to install proper checks on entrenched power.