WHAT: Officials pulled off a very orderly election. Complaints mainly focused on long lines. And some people did wait for hours to cast their vote. But Baltimore City’s Board of Elections fixed its computer problems before voters showed up, and mechanical glitches throughout the state were kept to a minimum. Polls were not inundated with record numbers of voters as predicted. But the 2,032,081 Marylanders who did show up, according to the State Board of Elections’ most recent election data, checked in and checked the boxes for their candidates in relatively short order.
WHO TO THANK: Click here for links to your local boards of election.
Recommended Stories
Today’s dim bulb: Maryland endorses early voting
Long lines on Election Day may be frustrating. But protecting the integrity of the vote is more important. Passing the ballot question means the legislature can now make it easier to vote out of your county and early. Because the state does not require photo IDs to cast a ballot, the new legislation will make it easier to “vote early and often,” as the saying goes.
Today’s quote
“Nowhere else in the world would you see 100,000 people at a political meeting at 11 at night. … It’s obvious they’ve touched upon something that’s unique, and I’m deeply impressed.”
– Hakan Juholt, a member of the Swedish parliament, on President-elect Barack Obama’s rally Monday in Manassas, Va. Juholt and other foreign officials, part of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly, visited polling locations this week in Howard and Anne Arundel counties.
