Maryland primary voters hit the polls Friday for the state's first-ever experience with early voting — a dry run, candidates and election officials say, for the weeklong voting period before the general election in November.
The new system has cast office-seekers in the role of de facto educators, explaining the process to voters. Many also include early voting information in their campaign literature and have begun mentioning it in automated phone calls to voters. Many, including the governor and his chief competitor, hope to lead by example by casting their own votes early.
"It's kind of crept up on us," Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley said at an early voting rally this week in Annapolis with legislative leaders and the legislative black caucus. "It is still new to people as I encounter them on the street. Let's hope for a big turnout."
The leaders of the state's Democratic and Republican parties held a rare joint news conference Thursday to spread the word.
"Early voting will make it easier for all Marylanders to get to the polls, regardless of their hectic schedules — increasing voter turnout, and giving all registered voters in this state an opportunity for their voices to be heard," Democratic Chairwoman Susan W. Turnbull and Republican Chairwoman Audrey E. Scott said in a joint statement.
O'Malley faces only token opposition in the Democratic gubernatorial primary; his two challengers have little name recognition or money. But aides have said early voting in the primary will provide a valuable preview of how the process will unfold in November.
In the Republican gubernatorial primary, former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. must face down Brian Murphy, a Montgomery County businessman who is far less widely known but drew national attention when former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced her support for him this summer.
"It's hard to figure out what early voting means in the Republican primary, given that this is the first time," Murphy said this week. "We're aware of it, but it's a nonfactor."
Murphy and others — Republicans and Democrats alike — predicted that only a tiny fraction of registered voters would cast their ballots early in the primary election. In Maryland's 2006 gubernatorial primary, about 855,000 people voted, less than 30 percent of those who were eligible.
Voter registration has ticked up slightly since then, but primary elections tend to bring out only the most committed voters, political analysts say. Most predict that early voters in the primaries will be people who would have cast absentee ballots otherwise. States with long-established early voting typically see about 20 percent of votes cast before election day.
Ross Goldstein, deputy state elections director at the Maryland Board of Elections, said the state was ready.
There are 46 early voting centers across the state, compared with about 1,900 polling places on Election Day, he said. Each will be monitored by Democratic and Republican elections judges, just as on primary election day. Neither party has reported problems staffing the centers.
All early voting centers are open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday through Thursday, with the exception of Sunday, when they are closed. Registered voters may cast ballots at any center in their home county.
Populous places have several early voting sites — there are five in Baltimore — while more rural areas such as Washington County have just one.
"I don't anticipate that large of a turnout for early voting, at least this county," said Del. Christopher B. Shank, a Republican in a tight primary election against an incumbent Republican senator in the area. "But smart campaigns have to be prepared and get their message out early, not just on Sept. 14. You've got to balance the importance of that day against the people who might vote early."
One way that candidates appear to be striking that balance is by encouraging early voting. Many are leading by example: O'Malley, Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown and Democratic House Speaker Michael E. Busch of Anne Arundel County plan to vote Friday.
Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy said she plans to vote Friday in the Democratic primary so that she can see for herself how the process works.
"As we go out to the community, we're telling people that they can vote early, and they seem surprised," said Jessamy, who faces the well-financed and police-backed Gregg Bernstein in her toughest primary in years. "Our message to people is: Vote early, vote on the 14th, but don't vote late."
Bernstein has no plan to vote early but has been trumpeting the process in his robust social media campaign.
Early voting has posed a bit of an awkward situation for Ehrlich, who led the charge against it while he was governor.
Ehrlich composed a YouTube message in which he attempts to reconcile his opposition to early voting with his desire for you to vote early for him.
In the video, released Friday, Ehrlich says he saw early voting as a "solution in search of a problem." Still, he says his campaign hopes to take "full advantage" of what is now state law.
His position has not gone unnoticed by his primary challenger or his likely general election opponent.
"Ehrlich's change of heart on early voting [is] nothing more than an opportunistic about-face by a career politician," Murphy said in a release Tuesday, some of his strongest criticism to date of Ehrlich.
O'Malley's campaign spokesman said in a message to supporters Tuesday that early voting was a "no-brainer for public officials on both sides of the aisle, but if Bob Ehrlich had had his way early voting would never have been possible."
The Maryland General Assembly approved early voting in 2005, Ehrlich vetoed it that May and then the legislature overrode his veto the next year.
It didn't matter. The state's highest court ruled in 2006 that the state consitution is clear: Voting day is a specific day, meaning the question of whether to change how the election works needed to be put directly to voters. Marylanders voted overwhelmingly in 2008 to approve it, and the legislature set up the process.
Friday is its debut.
Baltimore Sun reporter Annie Linskey contributed to this article.
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Source: mdearlyvote.com
Early voting locations
Registered voters can vote at any center in their home county from 10 am. to 8 p.m. daily until Thursday, except Sunday.
Baltimore City:
Public Safety Training Facility
(Old Pimlico Middle School)
3500 W. Northern Parkway
St. Brigids Parish Center
900 S. East Ave.
Pleasant View Garden Apartments
201 N. Aisquith St.
Library #10
4420 Loch Raven Blvd.
Edmondson Westside Sr. High School #400
501 Athol Ave.
Baltimore County:
Towson University Administrative Building
7720 York Road
Towson
Catonsville Community Center
106 Bloomsbury Ave.
Catonsville
Honeygo Community Center
9033 Honeygo Blvd.
Perry Hall
North Point Library
1716 Merritt Blvd.
Baltimore
Randallstown Community Center
3505 Resource Drive
Randallstown
Howard County:
Florence Bain Senior Center
5470 Ruth Keeton Way
Columbia
Ellicott City Senior Center
9401 Frederick Road
Ellicott City
Ridgely's Run Community Center
8400 Mission Road
Jessup
Anne Arundel County:
West County Library
1325 Annapolis Road
Odenton
North County Library
1010 Eastway
Glen Burnie
Severna Park Library
45 McKinsey Road
Severna Park
Annapolis Senior Activity Center
119 South Villa Ave.
Annapolis
Edgewater Library
25 Stepneys Lane
Edgewater
Harford County:
Bel Air Public Library
100 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Bel Air
Carroll County:
Westminster Senior Activities Center
125 Stoner Ave.
Westminster