BALTIMORE — As the clock struck 8 p.m. Tuesday, polls closed for Maryland’s primary election.
There were several highly contested races, which included picking candidates to succeed Gov. Larry Hogan and a competitive Baltimore City State’s Attorney race with three democrats vying for the job of top prosecutor.
Voter turnout during early voting, from July 7-14, was considered slow by Baltimore City Election Director Armstead Jones. The pattern continued through Primary Election Day on July 19.
“Things have been very slow everywhere I’ve gone today,” said Jones. “It has been slow in talking to other directors around the state. It has been very slow, even during early voting, it has been real slow.”
The Maryland Court of Appeals issued an order that moved the primary from June 28 to July 19 while the court weighed challenges to the state’s new legislative and congressional maps.
People had the option to vote in-person Tuesday between 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. However, there was a hiccup at the start of the day for some polling locations.
At the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Mount Vernon, an election judge was an hour and a half late, according to officials.
This pushed back the start time for people at that poll on Cathedral Street.
Still, thousands of people made their mark in Maryland by choosing to vote in-person. For some, voting is a tradition, a thread in the fabric that weaves together what our future could look like in Maryland.
“I’ve always voted since I got my voter’s card. I’ve voted in every election,” said Tyrone Crawley.
More than 500,000 people requested mail-in ballots in the state. The Maryland State Board of Elections allows for several ways to turn the ballot in by mail or by hand delivery.
Some chose to deliver their mail-in ballot to their local board of elections, at an early voting center or ballot drop-off box by the time polls closed.
Ballots had to be postmarked on or before the primary election and must be received by your local board of elections by 10 a.m. on July 29.
Mail-in ballots will start to be tallied on July 21.
Early voting numbers will be the first wave of results resulted after polls close.
The Maryland State Board of Elections expect the final certification of the election to be the week of August 8.