Getting more polling locations for early voting in Harford County is, not surprisingly, becoming politicized.
The county's Democrats have been busy trying to register more voters so the county can qualify for two more early voting sites, which would most likely be in Democratic strongholds.
Republicans, meanwhile, are less than eager to see that happen.
Harford County is fewer than 200 registered voters away from qualifying for two more early-voting polling sites in its next election.
"I think we only need 172 more now," Wendy Sawyer, chairwoman of the Harford County Democratic Central Committee, said Thursday.
The committee has been having registration drives around the area for weeks. The New Harford Democratic Club sent out an e-mail Tuesday announcing another community voter registration event at Art Helton's office in Aberdeen this weekend.
Harford needs 150,000 registered voters to get two early-voting sites in addition to the one in Bel Air, which was at the Bel Air Branch of the Harford County Public Library during the last election.
"That is going to make a big difference for Democrats, because [the new polling places] are Edgewood and Aberdeen," Sawyer said about why the Democrats are trying to get out the vote. "Aberdeen and Edgewood are our areas."
She said that's also where voting sites are the most needed, not in Bel Air.
"That's where the voters have difficulty getting to the polls," she said about the Route 40 corridor.
The locations of the polling sites are not guaranteed until the required registration numbers are reached, Bradford Burdette, a county elections clerk, confirmed.
"[Judges] will definitely take into consideration the population density of Joppatowne and Aberdeen," he said, referring to traditional Democratic strongholds.
Although any registered voter, regardless of party, counts toward the qualification, Sawyer said Democrats are hoping this effort will give them the lead.
"We are not rolling over for the Republicans. We are going to continue working," she said.
But Scott DeLong, chairman of the Harford County Republican Central Committee, said he thinks having more voting sites would be a drain on county finances.
"The Harford County Republican party is always registering more voters," DeLong said. "As far as the early voting centers, I don't think it's something we really need, especially in the tough economic times we live in. It would be another big expense for the county."
DeLong said the site for early voting for the 2009 election seemed sufficient, and there are other measures, such as absentee ballots, that already give voters alternatives for casting their ballots.
"The one in Bel Air was pretty centrally located," he said. "Everyone knows when Election Day is."
Having more sites "is nice, but lots of things are nice to have, and I just think we really need to watch our expenditures," he said.