After Election Day lines, early voting wins

Polls can open for two weeks starting in 2010

Friday, Nov. 7, 2008

The ballot question won a majority vote in all 24 jurisdictions in the state, passing statewide 71 to 29 percent. Maryland will join 32 other states that allow voters to cast their ballots in the days leading up to Election Day.

The passage of the constitutional amendment gives the General Assembly authority to enact legislation that would allow three precincts in each county to open as many as 10 days before Election Day.

The up-or-down question passed with 76 percent support in Charles County. Voters in Calvert and St. Mary's counties favored the question by nearly identical 2-to-1 margins.

Supporters say the measure will make voting more convenient, give more people the chance to cast a ballot and curb long lines when elections are held on a single day. Maryland Democrats were the driving force behind early voting, which could help their candidates in a state where they outnumber Republicans by a roughly 2-to-1 margin.

Sen. Roy Dyson, who chairs an election law subcommittee in Annapolis, said he isn't certain that early voting will boost turnout, but believes it's important that voters who cast absentee ballots feel their choices matter. "I think a lot of them want to be a part of the process in which they have their votes counted with the bulk of the votes, not with the absentees," he said.

Dyson (D-St. Mary's, Calvert, Charles) expects state legislators will pass a law this year spelling out the details of early voting, so it will be in place for the 2010 elections. He supports allowing each county election boards to select which precincts will open early.

Opponents, including the state's Republican leaders, decried early voting as too costly, susceptible to fraud and a partisan maneuver designed to unfairly benefit Democrats by placing early voting locations in liberal precincts. They also object to the provision allowing people to vote outside of their usual precincts, which critics say opens the system to tampering and threatens the integrity of the process.

Early voting will cause political campaigns to prepare differently, said Kevin Igoe, a Republican strategist and campaign consultant who lives in Owings. "You have to understand it and prepare for it," he said. "It makes a campaign a little more expensive. It puts a premium on getting your ground game up and running earlier."

Igoe said he has worked for campaigns in Florida, which has early voting, so has seen the practical effects of early voting on a campaign. "You have to get more of your voter contact done before it starts," he said. "You need your organization up and running earlier to get your voters identified. It complicates things and fast-forwards the clock."

Long lines at some precincts on Tuesday convinced some voters to back the measure. "As the population grows and the contests become more competitive, you're going to see this kind of turnout," said Samuel Thomas, 48, a Democrat who voted at Sunderland Elementary School. "You need to be a little broader."

Southern Maryland voters who face lengthy commutes could benefit most from the additional time to vote, Dyson said. The polls were open for 13 hours on Election Day, but when commuting time is added in the work day for some people can be longer than that. It also could come into play if inclement weather forecasts cause people to stay home. An ice storm during the state's Feb. 12 primary election snarled traffic and caused elections officials to extend polling hours by 90 minutes

abrody@somdnews.com

Staff writer C. Benjamin Ford and Capital News Service reporter Jessica Groover

contributed to this report.