Politics
Maryland early-voting count tops 230,000 as mail ballot requests climb
More than 230,000 Marylanders voted in person during the first four days of early voting, well above the same point in 2022 but below 2018. Nearly 650,000 voters have requested mail-in ballots this year, according to state data cited by a political science professor as evidence of the growing appeal of voting by mail.
ARBUTUS, Md. — More than 230,000 Maryland voters had cast ballots in person by the end of the fourth day of early voting, according to unofficial state election data, surpassing the 141,000 who voted by that point in 2022.
The count came as Maryland’s eight-day early-voting period continued Monday, Oct. 26. In-person voting was scheduled to end Thursday at 8 p.m.
The current total remains below 2018, when nearly 280,000 voters cast early in-person ballots, highlighting how turnout can vary from election to election. Ian Anson, a political science professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, said comparisons with 2022 should account for the pandemic’s lingering effects on voters’ decisions about entering polling places.
Mail-in voting has also expanded sharply in Maryland. About 120,000 voters cast mail ballots in 2018, compared with more than 540,000 in the 2022 midterm election. Nearly 650,000 voters have requested mail-in ballots this year, according to the figures reported Monday; requests do not necessarily mean a ballot will be returned or counted.
Anson said voters may have found mail voting effective and convenient, helping explain why requests have exceeded the 2022 level. The trend means participation totals increasingly reflect more than the crowds at early-voting sites, as Marylanders use different ways to cast their ballots.