Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Voters wonder if the volume of referendum questions was slowing balloting, or if more people were coming out to vote because of the questions.
The number of referendum questions on the Maryland ballot this year certainly didn’t deter people from voting. In fact, lines at polling stations around Severna Park and Pasadena were the longest some had ever seen. Voters wondered whether the questions are drawing more voters, or if it is taking voters longer to get through the ballot because of the questions, thus creating longer wait times. There are seven statewide ballot questions including petition referendums on in-state college tuition and gay marriage, and expanded gaming. And some counties have specific ballot issues that voters must address. In Anne Arundel County, there are 15 Charter Amendments on the ballot. “I think it is a little of both,” said Pasadena resident Jerry …
At around noon on Tuesday, the average wait time to vote was about an hour.
Bonnie Counselman will be 65 in February and voted for the first time at the Severna Park Library Tuesday afternoon. “I just think it is important now,” Counselman said. “There are a lot more issues that pertain to me like health care and social security. And really just the whole job situation has really affected me.” Counselman picked an interesting election to cast her first vote. She was heading into the library around 11:30 a.m., and the average wait time was at just about an hour. Dale Rodriguez, a former election judge, finished voting at Severna Park Elementary School just after 11 a.m. and said she too waited for an hour. “The whole thing took a little over an hour,” Rodriguez said. “I used to be a chief judge and I have never …
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Tuesday, November 6, 2012
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Patch caught up with Delegate Cathy Vitale outside of Severna Park Middle School on Election Day.
State delegate and Severna Park native Cathy Vitale (R-District 33A) was outside Severna Park Middle School on Election Day morning—but she wasn’t waiting to cast her vote. Vitale, a Republican, said she actually voted early and was spending Election Day around the polls talking with voters. Throughout the county, early voting numbers skewed heavily towards Democrats, something Vitale said surprised her. “I was surprised by the numbers,” she said. “Last election, Republicans came out heavily in early voting. I think a lot of individuals are waiting for today to ensure their vote counts on Election Day.” Vitale said she thinks this election in particular is a “game-changer.” With seven state questions and 15 county charter questions, Vitale…
Need to know where to vote? Check out the rundown of polling places in Severna Park.
Election Day is finally here. No matter which side of the aisle you lean toward—remember to vote. It's important to know your polling place on election day. Here is a complete list of polling stations in the Severna Park area. Voting starts at 7 a.m. and closes at 8 p.m. If you are unsure where you should cast your vote, check out this link. When you arrive at your polling location, simply provide your name and address to the election officials, and they will set you up with a booth. The results from Election Day will begin being released after the polls close at 8 p.m. Patch will provide coverage of the results and the winners throughout the night. See Also: Broadneck Patch editor Frank Smith contributed to this article.
History suggests that if President Obama wins Maryland's electoral votes, he'll be getting most of his support from elsewhere in the state.
Barack Obama secured Maryland’s 10 electoral votes on the way to winning the presidency in 2008, but his strongest support in the state was found outside Anne Arundel County. Voters in the county actually supported Republican candidate Sen. John McCain by a narrow margin, with 129,682 votes for McCain and about 125,015 for Obama. A review of the results shows that Obama garnered his strongest support in most of West Anne Arundel County and the Annapolis area, while McCain won the areas of Pasadena, Severna Park and south county. Obama earned very strong support in precincts in Brooklyn Park, Severn and Glen Burnie, but voting was generally split in other parts of north county. The races for congress in 2008 showed different voter …
Maryland's Patch editors bring live coverage of Election Day 2012 to your fingertips.
Patch has editors on the ground in dozens of communities around Maryland today, bringing you live coverage of Election Day 2012. Join the conversation above starting at 9 a.m. The chat window will aggregate Twitter posts from our Patch team and other Twitter users we thought you may find interesting on Election Day. Basically, you can follow everything election related right here—from the county and state ballot questions to the presidential election. Here are a few stories to get you started—we'll be updating this list throughout the day, too. For more updates, follow Maryland Patch teams on Facebook.
Monday, November 5, 2012
By the time early voting ended on Friday evening, 38,140 voters had cast ballots in Anne Arundel County.
More voters turned out at early voting centers Friday than on any other day in Anne Arundel County's early voting history. Check back here throughout Tuesday for live election results. By the time early voting ended on Friday evening, a total of 38,140 voters had cast ballots, according to information with the Maryland State Board of Elections. That's an increase of more than 4,000 over 2010's total early voting results, though 2012's numbers only account for 10.9 percent of the total number of registered voters in the county. Statewide, about 11.6 percent of voters cast ballots early, with Anne Arundel voters somewhere in the middle of the turnout, and Talbot County leading the state with 23 percent of total voter turnout during early …
Friday, November 2, 2012
The county is on track to break its 2010 early-voting numbers, but it lags behind most Maryland counties that have already surpassed their previous numbers.
Early voter turnout in Anne Arundel County is on track to be higher than 2010, despite the interruption of Hurricane Sandy. As of Thursday night, 8 percent of the county's registered voters had voted compared with an 8.74 percent early-voting turnout for the midterm elections—a difference of 644 fewer votes. With early-voting continuing through Friday, Anne Arundel County was expected to exceed the 2010 early figures. "Wait until we have the final numbers," said Joe Torre, the director of Anne Arundel County's Board of Elections. "As of 2:20 p.m. today we already had 4,569 votes cast. Those are unofficial numbers of course." He said waiting times on Friday have consistently been around the two-hour mark with an average of 700 ballots being…
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Parking spaces were hard to find at the Severna Park Library on Wednesday morning as early voters waited in long lines.
The parking lot at the Severna Park Library was packed full of cars Wednesday morning—and it wasn’t because of the free books. Early voting in Maryland resumed Wednesday and the line of people waiting to cast their votes was wrapped around the building. “The main reason I am here today is because I am a nurse and I work a 12-hour shift on Election Day,” said Severna Park resident Judy Calhoun. “So when I get off work the polls will be closed. I am very passionate about this election.” The parking lot at the library was jammed. One woman, who said she was just getting a book—not voting, had to park in the lot by Diehl's Produce. As I walked up to the library, one man who was coming out of the library told me “good luck in there.” Due to …
Sandra Valenti
4:27 pm on Wednesday, November 7, 2012
The charter amendment regarding frequency of audits for Anne Arundel County offices poses the question of the additional cost to perform these audits. Will annual audits cost the tax payers more money that one every four years? Does the benefit outweigh the cost? more ›