Washington County sees small turnout in the morning as early voting begins in Maryland

A small number of registered voters showed up to the Washington County Board of Elections headquarters on Virginia Avenue in Halfway at 7 a.m. Monday as doors opened to begin early voting for the state of Maryland.

Barry Jackson, deputy director for the county election board told The Herald-Mail that, typically, the first and last days of early voting are the busiest, citing the 2020 Presidential Election turnout and relating the long lines to "Disney World."

However, early voting was off to a slow start Thursday morning, according to Jackson. Between 7 and 9 a.m., the county election board headquarters saw 33 voters, with the Fletcher branch of the Washington County Free Library in downtown Hagerstown seeing 14 voters.

Historically, gubernatorial primary elections have a voter turnout of more than 20%. But with the election board receiving 8,000 requested mail-in ballots, there could be that many voters not showing up to the polls, Jackson has said.

There are 99,318 registered voters in Washington County, according to the elections board. Of those, 43,724 are Republicans and 31,454 are Democrats. The rest are third-party or unaffiliated voters. Only Republicans and Democrats are voting in the primary.

Some of the election judges said things could pick up after people get out of work around 5 p.m., and even more so over the weekend. Early voting runs through July 14. The primary election is July 19.

What did early voters have to say?

Those who came to vote Thursday were greeted by various campaign signs from candidates running in federal, state and local races. A couple of registered voters said they wanted to get voting out of the way before they went on vacation.

Although the crowds of voters were sporadic throughout Thursday afternoon, that did not stop some election judges' enthusiasm for the electoral process.

For South Hagerstown High School rising senior, Mae Crews, 17, she said she was interested in political science. Crews was a greeter for the county election board at headquarters voting center.

"I thought that it would be interesting to kind of go see how (the election process) works," Crews told The Herald-Mail. "And then I guess I have nothing else really to do this summer."

Crews said that she began paying attention to the electoral process during the 2020 Presidential Election, while she was taking an Advanced Placement government class. She said that the class opened her eyes to how things worked.

"I didn't know there's like this big process," she said. "I am 17. I never voted. But, I think it'd be good for when I do get to vote."

Crews added that she will be helping start a young Democrats club chapter to help get younger voters out to the polls.

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Where do I go to vote during early voting in Washington County?

Early voting is taking place at two sites, the Fletcher branch of Washington County Free Library in downtown Hagerstown and the county election board headquarters on Virginia Avenue in Halfway.

Early voting sites are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. through July 14, including during the weekend. Primary election day is July 19, and voters will be required to go to their polling place.

The library at 100 S. Potomac St. has parking behind the facility that is accessible from Baltimore Street and from the alley behind the library. While the lot is gate-controlled on a normal business day, the gate will be up for the entire week of early voting. There is also street parking near the library.

The county election board headquarters, a former Food Lion grocery store, has a parking lot in front of it.

Both locations are on public transportation routes.

The county also has six ballot drop boxes for those voting by mail, with two of those locations being at the early voting centers.

The other locations are:

• The Boonsboro Town Hall at 21 N. Main St.

• The Clear Spring Town Hall at 146 Cumberland St.

• The Hancock Town Hall at 126 W. High St.

• The Smithsburg Town Hall at 21 W. Water St.

What offices are up for election?

Only those registered as Democrats or Republicans are able to vote, and they can only cast ballots for candidates in their own parties.

Every voter in the county will be able to vote during the General Election in November.

County voters during the primary will pick which Democratic and Republican candidates will be on the Nov. 8 ballot. Those include county commissioner, treasurer, state's attorney, clerk of the circuit court, register of wills, judges of the Orphan's Court, sheriff, and party offices.

They will also determine what candidates running for certain statewide and federal races will be on the fall ballot, too, including governor, comptroller and state attorney general; state delegates and senators; and U.S. representatives and senator.

In some instances — including county state's attorney, clerk of the circuit court and register of wills, plus a few state delegates — the races are uncontested. That means the candidate automatically moves on to the general election.

While seats are up for election on the Washington County Board of Education, not enough candidates filed, meaning all of them will appear on the November ballot. That race is nonpartisan.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Slow start to early voting Thursday morning in Washington County