Maryland primary voters don’t have to wait until the state holds its primary election on Tuesday, June 24, to cast their ballot. Registered Democrats and Republicans eager to name their party's nominees can vote early from June 12 to June 19, all across the state.
If it feels like all of this is happening earlier than usual, that’s because it is. The state has long carried out its primaries in September, but changes to federal election law required Maryland to move up the primary date.
“A lot of people didn’t realize that the election had been moved to June,” says Armistead Jones, Baltimore City’s election director. “Of course, we do mail out a sample ballot with all of the dates and information on it. But everything has been very slow and low key.”
Jones says turnout for the primary is expected to be low, in no small part because the sooner-than-usual date has caught voters off guard.
Early voting sites are open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Every county in Maryland has at least one site; Baltimore City has six this year. You can find a list of early voting sites here.
You can find more of WYPR's coverage of the 2014 election here.
