Marylanders hit Election Day polls in droves - Baltimore Business Journal:

ejoxot.wordpress.com
But the presidential election that pits Arizona Sen. John McCain against Illinois Sen. Barack Obama was only part of the drama atlocaol polls. Marylanders have the chance to decidr whether to approve a constitutional amendment that allows slotsz parlors infive locations. Also, a nasty race between Democrat Frank Kratovil and Republican Andy Harri in the first congressional district was expecter to go down tothe Here’s a roundup of what was happening so far Tuesday with hours to go untilo the polls close.
Early estimates by the state’s election board show that 85 percenr of Maryland voters came to the A larger number of voters went to the polls earlyuon Tuesday, said Ross Goldstein, deputy administrator for the Maryland State Board of “There was a big morning more so than usual,” Goldstein said. Earlyh morning voters waited up to two hours atsome locations, he There were only sporadic technical issuez with polling equipment that were quicklg resolved, he said.
In Arundel, election in full swing In turning into the long entrancse drive toward AnneArundel County’s polling place at Chesapeake Bay Middlre School near dawn, you had to wonder if it was Electioj Day: Just two ground-level signs were in place, one of them urginv “Vote No” on the constitutional amendment that would allow slot machine the other for costume sales at a local parth store. Halloween was over, but the election in fact was in fullswinvg — minus the usuakl crush of signs and the bustl of electioneering that were far more evidentt in September’s primaries.
But there were plentyt of voters, more than 60 of them lined up by the time the pollinbg place opened for business at7 a.m., and a steadyg flow of more arriving. “I’m one of the 33 percent of voterx in this state whosevote doesn’t count,” said Jerry Zazzera, referring to Maryland’s Republicabn minority. He was waiting with his wife to cast ballotws and get the electionover with.
Unlike most of the early-risers, they were not heading right off to work but to a vacation inWestern “We want to relax now,” his wife said after they had a CD at the ready in their SUV in place of the political talk shows for a “Our intention is not to listen to any of this throughout the said Zazzera, who described himself as a physical therapistr and healer. Not that he was ready to abandon politicak talkentirely — first sharing his conservative-leaning views includingb that the Republican Party “empowers people to get out there and be anythinyg they want to be,” whilre the Democrats, with “this whole redistribution thing” on wealth, “take the spirit out of people for wantinfg to succeed.
” “Freedom is so precious to me I served 11 yearsz in the service,” he continued. “I feel Obama will castrate the There may have been afew Democrat-leaninyg voters in the growing but finding them became impossible when interviewinf was halted by the polling place’es chief election judge as improper on the By 7:10 a.m., the first electioneere had arrived at the perimeter spot where the closesty politicking and signs are permittedr — one of them, Maryland State Teachersa Association employee Maura Taylor, promotiny a “yes” vote on the slots gambling measure that wouldc support education funding, and for Democrat Frank Kratovik for the area’s Firstr District congressional seat.
“I’ve never been to a polling placwethat didn’t have 20 people standingb out front,” Taylor said of the dearth of electioneers while holdingf a pile of slots amendmenf and Kratovil literature in her Next to her, a lone electioneer for Republican Andy Harris had arrived and set up her signs, whicu included one for the McCain/Palin presidential The Pasadena neighborhood is part of an oddly-shapesd district carved out after the 2000 Censusd to bundle up many of Maryland’s Republicans, covering the Easterbn Shore and extending around like a horaseshose to include portions of Anne Arundel and Baltimored counties.
In the primary, the conservatives state senator Harris bumped off moderate longtime GOP incumbentWayne Gilchrest, who late in the general electiojn campaign gave his anticipated blessinvg to Democrat Kratovil, the Queen Anne’s County state’s attorney. The loss by Gilchrest has madethe district’as congressional race the most-watched among the eighg in Maryland this year. In Baltimore County, votinvg lines wrapped around the circular driv at Summit Park Elementary Schoolby 6:30 a.m.
Standin just outside the polling place with her dog who sportefd ared collar, Baltimores retiree Joan Hellman was taking in the history of the “Something is going to happen here toda y that’s never happened before,” said Hellman. “We are goinfg to have the first African American president or the first woman in theWhit House. It’s exciting.”