JARRETTSVILLE, Md. — Whether it was out of convenience, pure excitement, or just wanting to get it over with, thousands of people took advantage of early voting today in Maryland.
"It's certainly more convenient. You don't feel kind of the pressure or the stress of needing to get here and wait in line,” Theresa Coleman told WMAR-2 News outside of the Edgewood Recreation Center, one of four polling centers open in Harford County for early voting.
"I'm going away on a trip in November and voting is very important and I wanted to make sure my vote got counted,” Robert McGraw said.
"It wasn't too bad, wasn't too bad. It was a little more than I expected, but I'm glad to see people turning out. I made sure each pollster for their service as citizens. Otherwise, this democratic process couldn't unwind,” Alan Reese said outside the polling place inside the Jarrettsville Fire Hall.
"I'm always very proud when I come to vote, because it's a big deal,” Candy Schley said.
“This is a privilege,” Cecilia Rapson said.
Rapson and Schley were making a day of it, voting in the morning, and then grabbing lunch together after.
“I felt like, let’s celebrate,” Rapson said. “I’m voting for the same issues she’s voting for.”
Some of those issues included "the economy, the border, I would say abortion, taxes, the cost of everything now," Schley told WMAR-2 News.
On day one of early voting, Thursday, 150,315 people across Maryland came out to the polls. In 2020, the last presidential election year, that number was only slightly higher with 152,030.
We asked voters in Edgewood and Jarrettsville what issues were most important to them this year.
"How long do you have?" Theresa Coleman quipped.
Some voters mentioned specific policies. Others mentioned specific people.
"Definitely the border, “ Robin Mecinski said. “That needs to be handled. Definitely inflation. My daughter's trying to buy a house; everything costs way too much."
"The economy and abortion are huge to me,” Robert McGraw said.
"The border, probably be my number one. Safety for all of us,” Sean Bullock said.
“Democracy. Freedom and democracy are on the line,” Alan Reese said.
Voters on both sides of the aisle felt like the stakes were especially high this year. Sherron Jackson mentioned women’s rights specifically.
"To put him back in office is a really bad thing. It's kind of hurting to a lot of women this time around. For me to be a woman of color, it's important this time around, and to hear him say the things that he's been saying, it's not a good thing."
Coleman took issue with how the Democrats ran their campaign. “How things went down with Joe Biden, them ousting him, and then installing Kamala Harris who got 0 votes. That is not the way our government is supposed to work. And if we let that go, without the people standing up and saying, ‘Look we’re not gonna stand for this,’ it’s gonna set a really bad precedent for our future and you never know what could happen from there.”
“It’s very contentious. It’s very tight, probably the tightest I’ve ever seen in my years,” Robin Mecinski said.
Early voting is open through October 31. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can find a list of early voting locations here.
