In Storm Stare-Down, Maryland Early Voter Turnout is High

To get a head start on Hurricane Sandy, Maryland voters on Saturday flocked to voting centers on the first day of a six-day early voting period.

By 7 p.m., 2,768 Harford County residents had participated in early voting, according to the Board of Elections Twitter feed.

Harford County Board of Elections officials could not be reached, so there is no comparative information to tell how that number relates to that of primary early voter turnout, that of two years ago or the county's number of registered voters. 

But Maryland State Board of Elections officials say turnout was high across the state.

"It's pretty much off the charts statewide right now," Mary Cramer Wagner, the director of voter registration for the state board, said Saturday afternoon. "I know that Montgomery County reported an hour and a half wait as well as Saint Mary's County."

Some Baltimore County voters reported waits of two and three hours at some polling centers.

Hurricane Sandy, also known as Frankenstorm, is expected to hit the Chesapeake Bay area Monday with winds that could reach up to 80 miles per hour.

"Come Monday, even though early voting will be in place, if the storm comes through, it will impact individuals' abilities to go vote," Cramer Wagner said. "We are speculating that today and tomorrow will be crowded."

Early voting for the Nov. 6 general election started Saturday and runs through Nov. 1. Early voting centers will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and also Monday through Thursday. On Sunday, centers will be open from noon to 6 p.m.

Harford County's early voting center is at the McFaul Activity Center, 525 W. MacPhail Road in Bel Air.