54 Polling Places Will Be Open in Frederick County On Tues., Nov. 5th, General Election Day

Hours will be from 7 AM until 8 PM.Frederick, Md (KM) There will be 54 voting centers open in Frederick County on Tuesday, November 5th, General Election Day.  Election Director Barbara Wagner says it might be crowded at each of these sites, but there’s a good time to come to the polls when it’s not crowded.”I’m suggesting to folks that they go between 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. That’s where you’re not going to see as many lines,” she says.Most people who vote on general election day come in the morning before going to work, or in the afternoon and evening after getting off from work.But if you’re in line and it’s getting near closing time, Wagner says you will be allowed to vote. “We say eight-o-clock, but if there are people in line at eight-o-clock, we keep the polls open and we do not close anything down and we don’t send out any results until all the polls are closed in our county,” says Wagner.Between October 24th through October 31st, counties across Maryland held early voting, including Frederick County. Wager says at all four polling locations in Frederick County during that time, there were few problems with people waiting in line to vote. “The enthusiasm, people were just really nice and pleasant,” she says. “We had our greeters out there, making sure anybody who needed a seat or had to sit down, could sit down and still wait in line because we gave out numbers for them.”But Wagner said not as many people came out for early voting this year compared to 2020. “It was a pandemic year. And while we had one early vote center open, and 14 early voting sites open, it just wasn’t the same. We sent out a lot of mail-in balloting was higher than it is now. Early voting was at a higher percentage in 2020 then it was now,” she saidFor 2024, Wagner says the Board of Elections is ready for voters to come in and cast their ballots. She said the results will be released sometime after the polls close at 8:00 PM. “Anytime after eight-o-clock, when everybody is closed down, the state will start putting out results, and you’ll go with the pre-canvas numbers, the early voting numbers, and then the election night result numbers and that’s  how it will come out,” she says.Even after the general election, the votes will still continue to be counted. Mail-In Ballot Canvassing will continue on Thursday, November 7th, and possibly continue into Friday ,November 8th, Saturday, November 9th, Sunday, November 10th, and Monday, November 11th (Veterans Day) and Tuesday November 12th. The Board of Elections says the count will keep going until it’s completed.Wednesday, November 13rh, the Provisional Ballot Canvassing will take place. Mail-In Ballot Canvasing continues, on Friday, November 15th. (Mail-In ballots need to be postmarked by Tuesday, November 5th, or be  the office by that time, or they won’t be counted, the Board of Elections says.)After the count on Friday, November 15th, the Frederick County Board of Elections will certify the results.  If the counting is not finished , it will continue until it’s completed.By Kevin McManus