On a dreary day withintermittent rain showers, thousands of Anne Arundel County voters headed to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots in this year’s primary election.
Turnout for the primary has been “admittedly, a little bit slower” than previous years, said David Garreis, director of the county’s board of elections. By 4 p.m. Tuesday, 13,238 residents had voted in person, more than doubling the turnout of almost 5,600 as of 11 a.m.
Many county election judges reported a slow start as well — a theme that persisted throughout the day. At Glen Burnie High School, for instance, only 53 voters had turned out by 3 p.m.
The number of mail-in ballots, however, was comparable to previous years, Garreis said. Nearly 63,000 mail-in ballots were sent out in Anne Arundel County this year, according to state election board data. Of those, 22,909 had been countedby Monday evening.
Early voting drew many to the polls as well, with 11,871 residents casting their ballots between May 2 and May 9.
Statewide, ballots were cast for presidential and U.S. Senate races. In Anne Arundel County, residents voted for congressional representatives, Board of Education members, circuit court judges and delegates to the Democratic and Republican national conventions.
Some voters were excited to cast ballots for candidates vying to take Rep. John Sarbanes’ seat in the crowded 3rd Congressional District race, which encompasses all of Howard County and portions of Anne Arundel and Carroll counties. The Democratic primary attracted nearly two dozen candidates, including Harry Dunn, a former U.S. Capitol Police officer who’s surged ahead in fundraising, state Sens. Sarah Elfreth and Clarence Lam, and state Dels. Mark Chang, Terri Hill and Mike Rogers, among others. Nine Republicans are on the ticket as well.
Despite a recent knee surgery, Annapolis resident Felicia Rivera, 59, came out to the polls to support Democratic candidates, including Elfreth.
“Keeping it blue,” she said of her decision to vote. “Not trying to turn the state red.”
For Glen Burnie residents Helen Wilson, 81, and Brian Wilson, 56, a mother and son duo who voted together at Glen Burnie High School, Chang was their choice. The current state delegate is “very conscientious,” Helen Wilson, a General Assembly staffer, said.
“He’s very energetic to serve his constituents, which is what you want from any elected official,” Brian Wilson said.
For many Anne Arundel County residents, the Senate race was more of a driving factor for voting in the primary. Democrats Angela Alsobrooks and David Trone and former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan have been at the forefront of voters’ minds.
Patricia Smith, 56, of Annapolis, cast her ballot at the American Legion Post #141 off Forest Drive around 9:30 a.m. A high school teacherin Prince George’s County, Smith said she had to “do things right” and set an example for her students by voting.
“[I] have to talk the talk and walk the walk,” she said.
Though she remains undecided for the presidential election — a first for Smith, a Democrat — she still voted in other races. That included a vote for Alsobrooks for Senate.
“We can’t complain if we’re not part of the conversation,” she said.
Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley, who was born in South Africa and raised in Australia but became a U.S. citizen in 2009, voted with his son Dash, 19, at the city’s Salvation Army around 11 a.m.
Though Buckley said he tries to remain neutral on Anne Arundel County races, he voiced support for Alsobrooks in the Senate race, as did his son.
“She’ll be great,” the mayor said.
Like other voters, the Senate race piqued Tracy Morgan’s interest this year. The Gambrills resident, who said she always votes in the primaries, said she’d seen a lot of ads for Alsobrooks and Trone, and she voted to support the Democratic Party.
Primary election day in Anne Arundel County | PHOTOS
“I think it’s very important to make those primary selections so that we know what’s coming up later in the year in the actual election,” she said.
Republican voters were mixed on the candidates they supported, but an overall theme of supporting their party emerged.
Stacy Canavan, 55, of Edgewater, headed to the polls shortly before 9 a.m. — an unusually early time for her to vote — but she said it was important that she cast her ballot for Hogan.
Canavan said she doesn’t pay much attention to politics, but the prominent divide between her own political party and Democrats was part of what drew her to voting on Tuesday.
“They need to come together,” she said.
For Bron Goldfadim, however, the way Hogan finished his term as governor didn’t sit well with him. Neither did the way Hogan talked about former president Donald Trump, he said. The 37-year-old Glen Burnie resident voted for Robin Ficker, a Republican and former state delegate.
“When you vote on your principle[s], that’s all that matters,” he said. “Whether that person wins or not, that’s out of your control.”
