Early Voting

As early voting launches today across Maryland for the first time this year, local elected officials took to the voting booth themselves this morning to urge fellow citizens to take advantage of the extended voting hours. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings voted at Edmondson-Westside High School Friday morning and urged citizens to vote yes on several bond measures that would allow the city to borrow $100 million in the next three years to maintain city buildings, renovate some local schools and revitalize some neighborhoods.

With the state's first attempt at early voting in a general election set to begin Friday, officials still are working out kinks in the system. After a trial run in last month's primaries, lawmakers are considering allowing those votes to be counted earlier on Election Day — an idea that has raised red flags among Republican and policy groups concerned that politicians could take advantage of the information. Even with historically low turnout for the primaries Sept.

Baltimore teachers began voting Wednesday on what is being hailed as one of the most progressive union contracts to emerge in the nation, which, if ratified, would give teachers unprecedented pay and autonomy and tie raises to proven effectiveness in the classroom. Hundreds of the union's approximately 6,500 teachers participated in early voting at the Baltimore Teachers Union headquarters Wednesday evening, shaping up for what union officials anticipate will be a near-record turnout for the ratification vote.

So this is what all the fuss was about? Maryland's first experience with early voting turned out to be an anticlimax on par with the U.S. invasion of Grenada. No problems at the 46 polling places, no signs of widespread fraud and not all that many voters either. Perhaps the most eventful moment of the six days came last week when early voting's newest disciple, former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., cast his ballot and urged others to vote early, too. As governor, Mr. Ehrlich described early voting an invitation to fraud, vetoed legislation authorizing it and then (after the General Assembly overrode his veto)

Voters came to the polls early — but not so often. Maryland's first-ever early voting period closed Thursday with about 2.5 percent of those eligible to vote in the primary election doing so ahead of time at centers across the state. That's about 77,000 people out of the state's 3.2 million registered Democrats and Republicans, who are the only voters who can participate in primaries. Early voting ended with a flourish, election officials said, with at least 18,000 votes cast on Thursday — more than any other day. The six-day early voting period began last Friday; the state's 46 voting centers were closed Sunday.

Short lines and easy-to-use machines helped give area residents a quick, painless introduction to early voting on Friday, voters and election officials reported. On the first-ever day of early voting in Maryland, participants in the primary elections expressed surprise at the ease with which they moved through the lines. Charlotte McDowell usually sets aside a few hours to cast her ballot, but this year it took her only about 10 minutes at the Public Safety Training Facility in Northwest Baltimore.

Maryland primary voters hit the polls Friday for the state's first-ever experience with early voting — a dry run, candidates and election officials say, for the weeklong voting period before the general election in November. The new system has cast office-seekers in the role of de facto educators, explaining the process to voters. Many also include early voting information in their campaign literature and have begun mentioning it in automated phone calls to voters. Many, including the governor and his chief competitor, hope to lead by example by casting their own votes early.

Change can come slowly, at times, to the Land of Pleasant Living. Case in point: new ways of voting. Starting this week, Marylanders can avoid long lines on Election Day by casting their ballots days in advance at early-voting locations around the state. Or if they prefer, they can mail in an absentee ballot. No excuses necessary. This newspaper has long advocated in favor of such common-sense changes, and we're pleased to see Maryland finally beginning to catch up. But much more could still be done to make it easier for citizens to exercise their right to vote.

A circuit judge dismissed Friday an attempt to revive a failed petition drive that would have let voters decide in November whether to confirm County Council approval of rezoning for downtown Columbia. Judge Richard S. Bernhardt granted a county motion to dismiss the case, on grounds that the group Taxpayers Against Giveaways never submitted a required memorandum explaining its legal arguments despite months of notice. As a result, county elections attorney Mike Molinaro said, he had nothing to respond to with early voting in the election less than two months off. "We're at a loss.

This year, Marylanders will have their first opportunity to stand at a voting machine and cast their ballots before Election Day. Approved by voters in 2008 and created by the legislature in 2009, Maryland's early voting program debuts at a time when the marquee showdown between a current and former governor dominates most election coverage. Consequently, many voters may be unaware of this fundamental change to Maryland's voting experience. Here's how it works: Forty-six early voting centers will open across the state shortly before the primary and general elections.