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Nearly 1 million voters cast ballots over eight days of early voting

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Nearly 1 million voters cast ballots over eight days of early voting

Nov 01, 2024 | 11:05 pm ET
By Bryan P. Sears
Nearly 1 million voters cast ballots over eight days of early voting
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Voters line up inside Wayne K. Curry Sports and Learning Complex in Prince George's County on Thursday, the last day of early voting in Maryland. Photo by William J. Ford.

More than one-third of Maryland’s 4.2 million registered have already cast their ballots in advance of the Nov. 5 election, with nearly 1 million cast in early voting that ended Thursday and another 568,359 mail-in ballots returned so far.

Those numbers do not include more than 300,000 mail-in ballots that were requested by voters but have not yet been returned, according to the most recent data from the Maryland State Board of Elections.

Early voting ran from Oct. 24 to Oct. 31, with more than 159,000 people showing up on the last day. Over the eight days, more than 994,000 people participated in early voting — a turnout of nearly 24%.

The turnout resulted in longer lines at some early voting centers. And while that can result in some frustration for voters, some advocates see it as a positive sign.

“I had to stand in the line for the first time ever in all the elections in the last six years,” said Nikki Tyree, executive director of the League of Women Voters. “I had to stand in line to just check in. I was standing there, and I was like, this is amazing.”

Tyree said she and other advocates see the lines as “amazing” because it means voters are coming out to participate. But she said she also understands how others might see it differently.

The largest number of early voters were, not surprisingly, in some of the largest counties, with a total of 537,000 ballots cast in Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Four counties — Queen Anne’s, Calvert, Talbot and St. Mary’s — all reported early voting turnout of more than 31% of their registered voters, while Allegany County and Baltimore City reported early voting turnout under 20%. Baltimore City reported the lowest turnout at 13.4%.

Early voting, mail-in ballots combine for brisk turnout

When early voting and mail-in ballots received are combined, the percentage of voters casting a ballot in the general election so far is 37%.

In a typical presidential election year, more than 75% of Maryland voters cast a ballot, based on  turnout for 10 presidential general elections between 1984 and 2020. Turnout for some of those elections has approached 80%, with only one election surpassed that mark: Turnout hit 81% in 1992, when the ballot also included a referendum to codify the abortion protections of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision into Maryland law.

This year, voters will decide the fate of Question 1 which would effectively place that three-decade old law into the Maryland Constitution. Debate over the amendment has not risen to the level of the referendum fight in 1992. A recent poll by the Institute of Politics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, found that 69% of Maryland voters supported Question 1, including roughly 35% of Republican voters.

Few snags so far

Tyree’s group is part of a coalition including the ACLU and Common Cause that also keeps an eye on voting issues during elections.

Early voting had few snags this year, said Tyree.

In one case, voters were turned away briefly at an early voting center in Charles County. The situation was resolved after state election officials stepped in, said Tyree.

There have also been several reports of volunteers crossing the boundaries for electioneering. In one case, Tyree said a voter reported being followed into a polling place.

“I think what’s important to remember here is that a lot of the electioneers are volunteers. They’re just people who believe in their candidate,” said Tyree.

“I don’t think a lot of those actions are nefarious by nature,” she said. “But there are really clear guidelines that electioneers need to know. Following people into a polling location is not good.”

Expanded mail-in voting popular post pandemic

The state’s mail-in voting program remains a popular option, with more than 869,000 mail-in ballots requested, an amount equal to about one in five registered voters. Of those, more than 568,000 had been returned by Thursday.

Mail-in voting remains more popular among Democrats, who requested more than 64% of all mail-in ballots in the state. While Democrats outnumber Republicans statewide by a 2-1 ratio, they requested more than 3.7 times as many mail-in ballots as GOP voters.

Maryland has a limited history with expanded access to mail-in voting, dating back to the pandemic-era 2020 presidential election. Before that year a voter had to qualify to vote by what was then called an absentee ballot.

But with the pandemic raging in 2020, every voter received a mail-in ballot for the primary and was encouraged to use it. For the general, mail-in ballots were made available to anyone that wanted one, but many wanted to vote in person.

Following that experience, the legislature expanded access to mail-in ballots to anyone who wanted one and not only those who could qualify.

Republicans have had an uneasy history with mail-in voting. In 2020, then-President Donald Trump made repeated and unsubstantiated claims that voting by mail was subject to fraud. Many supporters eschewed mail-in ballots in favor of voting in person.

But there are signs that mail-in voting is becoming more accepted among Maryland Republicans. In 2020, skewed by the pandemic, nearly 262,000 Republicans requested a mail-in ballot. But this year, more than 149,000 Republicans statewide asked for a mail-in ballot, well over the 102,000 Republicans who requested a ballot in 2022.

But there are caveats in comparing the three general elections. This is only the second presidential election where expanded access to mail-in voting has been available in Maryland.

Second, the pandemic and concerns about COVID were much different in 2020 than in 2022 or even today.

Finally, turnout in general elections in presidential years — 2020 and 2024 — is typically different than in gubernatorial election years.

Voters of both major parties are returning those ballots in higher percentages — more than 67% so far — than the overall state rate when unaffiliated and other voters are included.

It’s too late to request a mail-in ballot, but not too late to return one. Those voting by mail must deposit their ballots in a drop box or have them postmarked by Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. Mail-in ballots received by 10 a.m. on Nov. 15 will be counted if they are postmarked by the deadline.