Large Numbers Of People Waiting In Line In Frederick County As Early Voting Began On Monday

Early voting will last until Monday, Nov. 2nd.                                                                                                               

 

Frederick, Md (KM) There were a large number of people standing outside the early voting centers in Frederick County Monday morning as citizens lined up to cast their ballots in the 2020 election.

Election Director Stuart Harvey says at 7:00 AM, there 267 people waiting outside of Governor Thomas Johnson High; 214 at the Urbana Regional Library; 60 at Catoctin High; ; and 56 at the Middletown Volunteer Fire Department Activities Center. He says all  polling  places  opened on time on Monday morning.

So far, Harvey says there have been no glitches\.. “Sometimes people take a little while to set up. But everything was up and running by the time Seven O’Clock rolled around,” he said.

He says one problem at the polls had to do with the pens used to mark the ballots. “Please drop  your pen by the scanner after you’ve voted. We will sanitize it and it needs to be there for use by other voters. That seems to be one of the biggest problems we’re having is people walking off with our pens,” Harvey says.

In the past, it was usually a good time to vote between 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM to avoid long lines. But that was not the case on Monday as Harvey said voting was heavy throughout much of the day. “Remember that there are eight days of early voting. You might to wait until later in the week or maybe even the weekend. Early voting will be open every single day between now until November 2nd from 7:00 AM until 8:00 PM. And then of course on Election Day, all locations are open from 7:00 AM until 8:00 PM,” he says.

Drop boxes will still be available through November 3rd  for voters who received mail-in ballots, and have yet to fill them out.

“Be patient if you’re in line,” Harvey advises. “And hopefully treat the workers who are working so hard with patience and kindness.”

 

By Kevin McManus