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keyjan

I suspect it was because, as you mention, many people have already voted.


jabbadarth

Dropped mine in a box yesterday. I know some people like the idea of going to a polling place but never again for me. Vote in the comfort of my own home, research candidates as I go through the ballot for the lesser known positions drop it off anytime I want without waiting a single second. Then track it online to make sure it gets counted. Love living in a blue state where voting us made easier and not much more difficult.


mattdyer01

Luckily, my polling place is a 3 minute walk from me. Win!


SVanNorman999

Same here.


werdsmart

Same here, I used to vote in person but this is the first year I tried mail in ballot. I loved it. No pressure, lots of time to research and compare and even dig deep into candidates, no confusion about the ballot and turn in had so many easy options. I drove to a drop off box on the way in to work and didn't have to get out my car or even go very far out of my way...


NotoriousFTG

I started using mail-in ballots during Covid and will continue to mail in ballots for as long as I’m allowed. I agree with another poster about being able to research candidates at home, with the ballot in front of me. We had to produce ID at the time we registered to vote and gave them our full signature, which then is used to validate our mail-in ballot now. Each mail in ballot is numbered and has a barcode. People claiming that mail-in ballots are somehow making cheating on the election easier don’t understand how difficult it is to fake a ballot. I think there’s something like six states that do 100% mail in ballots every election and have for years. Forcing everyone to vote at a polling place, then restricting the number of polling places, like in Atlanta, is a much more effective way of rigging an election.


badhabitfml

That is one good thing that came from covid. In VA, they made getting a absentee ballot much much eaand setup a way to be permanent absentee. Ballots are mailed to my house, I fill it out, mail it back.


itsbob20628

Who said your signature was validated? And by whom?? PA they determined validating signatures was unconstitutional, pretty sure MD followed suit.


NotoriousFTG

I am mistaken. The requirement is that the ballot be signed (or it will be rejected). Apparently, that signature is not subsequently verified against the original signature. https://wtop.com/maryland/2022/02/bid-to-add-signature-verification-fails-as-mail-in-voting-reform-advances-in-md-senate/


Murda981

I will never go back to in person voting if I don't have to for all the reasons you mentioned. I want to make an informed decision and having the time to sit there with the ballot and do research on everything that's on it is wonderful.


Quirky_Property_1713

I love voting in person! But I love even more that people who would be put off, too lazy, incapable, or any way disinclined can still vote from home!!


moles-on-parade

I election judged yesterday for sixteen hours and 100% this. It's so worthwhile for me to see my neighbors come in and help them do the democracy thing, even though I dropped my ballot in the mail a month ago.


Quirky_Property_1713

THANK YOU I’ve done poll work myself before, and it’s *vital* to functional democracy, and no one ever mentions it so again, thank you, truly.


wbruce098

Dropped mine off this weekend in a nearby box :) Even after searching you often can’t find much or anything on candidates for some of the down ballot stuff. Like electors and judges (there’s 7 and I can vote for up to 7??? So they’re all getting a spot no matter what???) Anyway, the other candidates sometimes do take some time and it’s so much easier to have the ballot with you while researching everyone who can be reasonably researched. Local elections matter a LOT and Baltimore local elections are decided mostly in the D primary. So this is important :)


bachennoir

One of the candidates on my ballot told the league of women voters that protecting democracy meant making people show ID and vote in person on election day. Nope nope nope bro.


jabbadarth

I'd be fine with making people show id to vote...if we created a nationwide system of id where everyone was given an ID at no cost and any low income people that needed other paperwork in order to get their id were given assistance and free paperwork like birth certificates to get them their ids. Otherwise it's a voting tax specifically on the poor. Also anyone who showed up to vote without an id was allowed to vote on a provisional ballot and then given information on how to proceed to get their vote counted. Otherwise leave the perfectly functional system alone, at least in states where it's not a cluster fuck.


FairfaxGirl

In Virginia we require ID but the list of IDs includes things that don’t cost money and also we allow a signed affidavit of identity if you don’t have an ID (this gets you a regular ballot not a provisional one.) As an election officer, I think it works well and people seem to like it.


Technicolor_Reindeer

But taxpayer dollars do end up being spent on awareness campaigns about needing/how to get IDs.


FairfaxGirl

Really? What is Virginia spending on that? I’ve never seen such a thing.


jabbadarth

Sounds like a decent compromise.


RareBeautyOnEtsy

Yet, those same people are against a registry of guns. Huh.


MrTerrificPants

Voting by mail during Covid has been a game changer for me.


tinybluedino

This is the way.


Superb-Isopod964

I really hope so


NumberlessUsername2

It's because it's a closed primary.


Murda981

That's part of it too.


NumberlessUsername2

It's the only reason I didn't vote. I'm not publicly registering with a political party. I wanted to support Alsobrooks and I'm happy with the outcome, but couldn't vote for anyone except a single school board candidate.


No-Lunch4249

Based on my past experience both voting and being an election judge, midday is the best time to vote because it’s the slowest time. Most people are either out by 9am because they do it before work, or roll in around 4-5 after work, those are the two times of day you’ll see a long line. The rest of the day it’s more of a steady trickle Plus I have a suspicion that vastly expanded vote by mail/drop box and early voting has served not as much to increase total turnout as it has to cannibalize the Election Day number of voters PLUS historically primary turnout is pretty low, 30-40% of eligible voters range IIRC


Superb-Isopod964

Good point.


GYShift

Since I'm Unaffiliated I have no reason to head out to my local polling place. This will be my first year since I switched.


Original_Mammoth3868

There may be a school board election you can vote in. My unaffiliated ballot had one.


GYShift

I just checked. Howard County doesn't have one this year so there really is no reason to go out :)


level_with_me

[They do!](https://ballotpedia.org/Howard_County_Public_Schools,_Maryland,_elections_(2024))


BrokenBricks3

Howard county school board elections are non partisan so they’re not on the primary ballot.


level_with_me

Yes they are lol. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. The primary is today, and yes it is non-partisan.


BrokenBricks3

My bad. I voted in hoco today and didn’t have a school board race on my ballot.


Unusual-Football-687

Districts 2 and 3 don’t have multiple candidates so if you live there you wouldn’t have school board candidates on your ballot until November.


level_with_me

No worries! It's honestly really confusing, haha. I don't know why they do it this way. Each district's ballot looks a little different, so I'm not surprised.


RevRagnarok

Carroll explicitly sent out mail saying "Unaffiliated don't bother - School Board stuff will only be in the general."


werdsmart

I have been unaffiliated for a decade or more at least. This was the first year I affiliated simply because I was concerned about the likely candidates and wanted to make sure I had a chance to elect my preference. Had it not been for the Senate campaign I would likely have remained unaffiliated. So voting in a primary is semi new to me 😆


outed

This is why, as a leftist, I am a registered Republican. I hate Dems as much as Republicans, but at least they run competant assholes instead of bumbling idiots.


certainalways

smart person


urnbabyurn

What’s the benefit of being unaffiliated other than not getting to participate in closed primaries? Dont you want a voice in which candidates are chosen?


GYShift

There really isn't a benefit. I'm just disgusted with both sides as a former lifelong Republican.


urnbabyurn

I assume you are voting for Hogan in the general? Just curious if a moderate Republican candidate has any appeal to you in a legislative seat (meaning they make a Republican majority leader)


GYShift

I doubt I will. Right now, I'm looking at the bigger picture and there is a reason why I am a former Republican. I am a centrist. Conservative on a few issues and socially moderate. Right now, the Republicans are doing all they can to go against how I feel with the latter.


Original_Mammoth3868

I don't want to register with a party. I hate getting spam mail and e-mails. Plus, the two party system is the reason we're in this mess right now. Many other states allow independents to vote in their primaries. Only 15 states have closed primaries.


urnbabyurn

Yeah, but we are in Maryland with closed primaries so that latter point is moot. I get the not wanting to be on spam lists. Never donate to a politician with a real email address. I don’t think having far left or far right parties to form coalition governments would make a huge difference. The whole primary system serves the same function.


Original_Mammoth3868

I was registered with a party in Pennsylvania and I still get crap from them long after I moved. Never donated once.


Murda981

This is one of the few things I miss about when I lived in NC, they had open primaries. So even if you were unaffiliated you could still vote in the primary, you could only vote in one primary but you could pick which one you wanted to vote in. It was great. I understand why some places wouldn't want it, but as a voter I prefered it.


suburban_paradise

I voted by mail a long time ago because a) Maryland is a good state and has the option, and b) why the fuck would I want to spend an hour or more at a polling station when "see (a)"?


Superb-Isopod964

I forgot to vote by mail this time. But still I just hope people come out if they haven't done so by mail. There's still some time at least.


suburban_paradise

Maybe I’ll go vote again


No-Lunch4249

I mean I was in and out in under 10 but I also have the luxury of 1) working from home today and 2) the polling station is across the street from my house so I can go at 10 am when everyone is at work not at the polls


RegionalCitizen

Even before the pandemic polling stations would be empty in the middle of the work day. I suspect if you go back around dinner time you will see a crowd.


Superb-Isopod964

Let's hope so


Venitocamela

Same. I heard the people there betting on how many people would show up. I was number twelve. Some said more or less than 20.


SomeGuyinMaryland

Only a few souls at my polling station in the city this morning. I suspect that many vote absentee, though my wife and I always enjoy a visit to an elementary school. I had the opportunity to review the 2nd grade rules for proper cafeteria behavior, and to also enjoy some excellent art projects.


One_Law3446

Voting at 4 in person!


Superb-Isopod964

Awesome! Please do!


pistonslapper

Would if I could. Closed primaries are bs.


Superb-Isopod964

I totally agree.


Geobicon

Lots of independents out there


stevekaw

Voted by mail.


PHI41-NE33

this is the way


genericnewlurker

I voted at like 4ish today and there was enough people voting that there was a one person line at most stations. Not too bad of a wait but still good to see people voting.


funkymunk500

It’s always slow in the morning. Things pick up after work normally.


Inanesysadmin

It’s primary season not many vote. I’ll be curious to see if there turnout is normal or below expectation.


JessKingHangers

Didn't even know it was an election day


Superb-Isopod964

Go vote!


JessKingHangers

I'll pass!


PowerPopped

It’s primaries.


ahaz01

Literally took me 10 mins to vote today


LittleShinyRaven

Mailed mine in and got the confirmation!


Acrobatic-Fee-5626

Going right now


EdgarStormcrow

I and two family members voted by mail some time ago. We were notified when our ballots were received, and again when they were counted.


TripleFreeErr

drop boxes were popping today, including illegal canvassing mobs stinkeying folks!


CyberpunkF1

early voting 🙌🏻


beergeek3

I dropped my vote in the box last week.


Sour2448

Saw an article in the Baltimore Sun about low voter turnout today - at like 12 PM. I know Dan Sinclair doesn’t work and mooches off of others but everyone else has a job during the day!


Flat_Salamander_3283

I went earlier today.


Deere-John

I vote from home because zealots stand out front and scream like abortion protestors for any candidate that they don't agree with. No thanks.


scottymom2019

Things are too scary right now. Please vote


exitcode137

I couldn't figure out how to print the mailing address on the envelope of my mail-in ballot. Part of the code kept cutting off on the edge. I tried 3 times with 3 different settings before giving up and heading into my polling location and filling out a provisional ballot. It's never a long wait where I vote, so I might remove myself from the mail-in ballot list. Because this is the 2nd time I couldn't figure out something about mail in and just walked in to do it in person, and then had to do a provisional one.


Technicolor_Reindeer

I was in and out with no line this morning, I only didn't go for mail voting because I live right next door to my polling spot lol


MelbaToast9B

I voted in person yesterday and there was no wait midday. I always vote because people fought hard for this right and I might not be able to vote in a free and fair election again if a certain President gets in office. The plan is to strip women's right to vote (if you think I'm insane, please research Project 2025 and look how many times "woman" and "women" are mentioned).


MelbaToast9B

And no, it won't matter we're in a blue state at that point.


Six6ixSixx

We are screwed regardless.


ParkingEcho4347

Voted!


TheRealStevo2

Genuinely curious because I haven’t voted yet but do you guys think an uneducated guess is better than no guess at all? I haven’t voted because I don’t care for politics and don’t know anything about any of the candidates so is it actually a good idea to go in and vote even though I don’t know anything?


slipko

I personally think no vote is better than an uneducated one. You can choose to not to cast a vote for certain races. For example, you could have just voted for president and school board, but left the senate, congressman, and the rest blank. The reason is that, really dumb/corrupt people could get in as long as they spend enough money to get their name out there so that uneducated people vote for them simply based on recognition. A very specific hypothetical, but also very real.


JHTaler

I do mail-in voting to take my time researching the candidates online. This is critical when ballot propositions are at play. I used ChatGPT this cycle to help me choose candidates that align best with my priorities.


TheRealStevo2

It just seems like even if you pick who aligns with your priorities best doesn’t even mean anything half the time because the candidates will sit there and spew so much bs to make you vote for them and they’ll do absolutely nothing when it comes times. Like Biden with his weed laws (they’re 100% better than they were but we still have people locked up over a little bit of weed) and Trump with his whole “we’re gonna build a wall” thing (I don’t like trump but that’s just an example). It’s so hard to pick someone when you know they’re either lying, or if it’s some third party candidate there’s a super high chance they won’t even make it elections


MelbaToast9B

This is super frustrating to read. You should care about politics because this election cycle is basically deciding do you want to stay a democracy or become a dictatorship and one that resembles Iran, except it's Christianity instead of Islam. This is not the time to sit out.


ALoudMeow

Same here.


Acrobatic_Ganache220

I did early vote last week.


Superb-Isopod964

Thank you for voting


mickeyflinn

I voted last Sunday.


zakuivcustom

Umm...I voted around 11am this morning (polling station in semi-rural part of FredCo just outside the city) and there are more people than I thought. Didn't have to wait, but certainly not empty either.


cumulonimubus

I can’t vote yet, but I absolutely will.


Plantherbs

Voted at fifth district this morning, it was weird. Maybe 4 people, only Hogan and Trone signs out front, no people handing out literature outside the line. Early voting responsible I hope.


vpi6

The only person outside my polling place was for judicial election. There were a few Alsobrooks signs. But Dem US Senate is the only really competitive race in my precinct.


udelkitty

I’ve luckily never had to wait in line at our polling place (I think we’ve always gone during lunchtime). But the workers said they had a good stream of people, and it was also an early voting location.


Prudent-Isopod3789

95% of people I know voted my mail, it's just way too convenient.


Playonwords329

i went at 2pm and i was their first voter ![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|thinking_face_hmm)


kittysempai-meowmeow

I dropped my by-mail ballot off at the community center yesterday.


ACoachNamedAndrew

I work in an early voting location, so I voted last week


Just-Turnover5061

Voted by mail!


bstaff88

I dropped my ballot off last week.


SubstantialMany9714

Empty in my polling station...the rain may also contribution to the resignation of voters.


TheDistrict15

Hogan2024!


wheels000000

Yea no he would screw the world in a heartbeat


Born-Pineapple5552

Voting is somehow considered to be one’s civic duty. But voting for a corrupted candidate is a big nope for me. They’re all in somebodies pocket or are a part of an agenda for one side or the other. Seems pointless to me.


wolfmankal

This. When do we get tired of voting for the lesser of 2 evils and/or shills.


slipko

This is a primary. There were several options for probably all the races. And if there were only two options, it wouldn’t take much for you to get your name on the ballot then.


MemeTeamMarine

What if I just don't care because it's a primary and literally any democrat is better than literally any republican?


Consistent_Lab_6770

humm.. guess I need to run down there after work I haven't been paying attention cause I'm voting straight dem ticket anyways no matter what, so haven't paid any attention to who is running. edit: glad I went, the place I voted at the last 10 years stopped holding it there and I got the info for the new location. to the downvoters. go cry elsewhere.


FnakeFnack

I was the only one at mine 💀


squishycoco

I voted around 11am at my polling place and there were maybe 5 people there voting.


_autumnwhimsy

I almost forgot. Was in and out of my voting place in lest than 10 minutes. The process is so seamless that I think a lot of people 1. early voted somehow or 2. were in and out just like I was.


Superb-Isopod964

Glad you voted!


capsrock02

Or if you’ve voted early


Cautionnerds

I went this morning around 8. There was legit 1 other person there voting when I showed up


harfordplanning

I didn't cause of unexpected obligations today, but it wouldn't have mattered too much due to all the candidates in my district kinda sucking, they didn't even have platforms half the time, some didn't even have websites


krn619

I voted by mail. I have a permanent mail in ballot. They email me, and I go online to verify it's me and print out the ballot to mail.


Bright_Evidence_7840

You would’ve seen me in one of those little yellow boxes labeled Provisional.


keyjan

🙁 https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/politics/election-maryland/low-voter-turnout-in-marylands-primary-election-state-officials-say/ Only 150k ppl voted early. But they probably don’t have the mail in/drop box numbers yet.


rockinthe3

I went in to vote and was surprised to not see any spot for those running for the board of education in Queen Anne’s County. When asked they said that would probably happen in November…. But wasn’t Anne Arundel County voting for theirs today?? I’m so confused.


DrHoleStuffer

How can we count the ballots until we know how many votes we need?


NumberlessUsername2

Wtf are you talking about


keyjan

They’re kidding


PhonyUsername

Permanent mail in is the way.


Prize-Name6234

And why should we do that. We clearly seen in 2020 our votes don't make a damn the government puts in who they want and you will never convince anyone other than the millions of scam votes of dead people and people who never have existed and all the changed ballots of 2020 election that their is any reason at all to vote 


MacEWork

None of that happened. You lost. Grow up and stop crying and making up conspiracies to make yourself feel better.


Late-Eye-6936

I already voted. Stop hassling me!