Primary Election

Cecil County voters, who did not take part in early voting, set to end Thursday, will get their chance to make their voices heard on the regular primary election day on Tuesday, April 3, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. This year is the first voting for offices created when voters, after many previous failed attempts, approved a home rule charter for the county in the 2010 general election. The primary election also features an interesting judicial race involving three candidates. Both Republicans and Democrats can vote for two of the three.

Democratic candidate John Delaney, who is running in Western Maryland's competitive 6th Congressional District, failed to vote in two recent elections -- one in 2006 and another in 2010 -- an absence his Republican opponent said should raise a red flag with voters in this year's election. Montgomery County voting records show that Delaney, a Potomac businessman who is making his first run for political office this year, did not cast a ballot in the 2006 general election, in which Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley unseated incumbent Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. He also did not vote in the 2010 primary election, which featured a competitive House of Delegates Democratic race in his district.

Today is Election Day in the Baltimore primary campaign.The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. If you are in line to vote at 8 p.m., you will be allowed to vote before the polls close.Only registered Democrats may vote in the Democratic Party primary. Registered Republicans and voters registered as independents may vote in the Republican primary.Your voter registration card will tell you where you should go to vote. You may vote if you don't have your voter card, assuming that election board personnel at the polling place verify that you are on the rolls.

Republican Rep.Roscoe G. Bartlett, who is fighting to retain control of Maryland's 6th Congressional District, posted his best fundraising quarter in years on Friday, but was nevertheless outraised by his Democratic challenger, John Delaney. Bartlett, a 10-term incumbent, has been improving his fundraising effort and collected just over $372,000 in the past three months, according to a report filed with the Federal Election Commission Friday. But Delaney, a Potomac banker who beat the party's pick in the April primary, is expected to raise slightly more than $450,000 in the same period, his campaign said.  Bartlett is in the race of his political career this year after lawmakers in Annapolis redrew the 6th District to be more friendly to Democrats.

Tuesday's primary election did not yield any unexpected winners in Carroll, but unofficial vote tallies offer some mild surprises.The vote counts should give Senate District 5 Republican candidate Larry E. Haines, Republican County Commissioner hopeful Donald I. Dell and Board of Education challenger Joseph D. Mish Jr. a confidence boost heading into the Nov. 6 general election.In what was considered an unpredictable race, Haines handily defeated Sen. Sharon W. Hornberger, R-Carroll, Baltimore, collecting 3,844 votes, or 57 percent, to the incumbent's 2,481 votes, or 37 percent.

Richard N. Dixon, the only incumbent seeking re-election, took an early lead in the first 24 of Carroll County's 41 precincts to report in yesterday's primary election race for the House of Delegates.Dixon took the lead with 37 percent of the early returns, followed by Westminster resident and longtime Democratic activist Ellen L. Willis with 32 percent, Philip R. Deitchman of Eldersburg with 18 percent and Eric R. Hirtle, a supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, with 13 percent.In the District 5 Senate race among Democrats, Westminster resident and teacher Cynthia H. Cummings took a commanding lead, 69 percent, against Uniontown resident Rachelle Feldman-Hurwitz, who received just under 31 percent.

Races for County Council president and sheriff dominated Harford County's political landscape yesterday as scores of candidates pitted new blood against experience in the primary election battle for nominations to state and local offices.Some election officials predicted about a 40 percent turnout among the county's 86,874 registered Democrats and Republicans.The race for County Council president race typified Harford's long struggle to manage rapid growth.In the Democratic primary, council veteran Theresa M. Pierno, who supports managed growth and more citizen involvement in planning, faced businessman and veteran politician Arthur Henry Helton, who says growth should not be constrained if it means more jobs and a bigger tax base.

Absentee ballots did not change the outcome of three tight races for City Council in Tuesday's primary, elections officials said yesterday. In the 7th District, Democrat Belinda K. Conaway topped Shawn Z. Tarrant 2,564 to 2,490. Conaway led by 53 votes on election night Tuesday. Conaway said she would continue attending community meetings and campaigning until the November 2004 election. "As an elected official, you're always campaigning," she said. "It's a never-ending process." Conaway will face Republican Owen B. Hanratty in the November 2004 election.

Quick. Name the lone major-party candidate in the race to succeed Gov. Parris N. Glendening. If you guessed Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, you're wrong. The Democratic lieutenant governor still won't acknowledge she's campaigning. The correct answer is Republican Ross Z. Pierpont, an octogenarian who has run and lost 15 times during the past four decades. With the primary election less than six months away, Maryland is experiencing a drought of candidates for governor and other top-tier elected offices.

A Baltimore City liquor commissioner has been charged with making illegal cash payments to poll workers to help his mother - a City Council member - on primary election day. A criminal information filed this week in District Court charges that William A. Welch, 47, son of Councilwoman Agnes B. Welch, a 4th District Democrat, made the illegal payments Sept. 14 last year, the day of the city's primary election. Such charges are rare. The election violation is a misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail or a $1,000 fine.

Some Baltimore activists are fighting against a charter amendment that, if approved by voters in November, would align Baltimore's elections with the presidential election cycle - and in the process give the mayor and most of the city's other elected officials an extra year in office. The advocates are absolutely right that the proposal is not the ideal solution to the city's problems of unnecessary election expenses and low turnout. But given a recent state law change that controls the timing of Baltimore's primary election, voters should approve the charter amendment.

If The Sun doesn't believe coverage of primary races selecting candidates for a U.S. presidential election is news, what do the editors think is important ("Romney rolling toward the fall," April 25)? There was nothing on Wednesday's front page about the five primaries held the day before. Inside the paper on page 8 was a headline describing Gov. Mitt Romney as "rolling" toward the fall. What does that even mean? Are we talking about a failure or autumn? The national paper I read published a brief of Mr. Romney's sweep of five primaries on the front page under "What's News - Worldwide.

WEATHER Today's forecast calls for partly sunny skies and a high temperature near 75 degrees. It is expected to be mostly clear tonight, with a low temperature around 47 degrees. TRAFFIC Check our traffic map for this morning's issues as you plan your commute. FULL ELECTION RESULTS Click here to see the results from Tuesday's primary election. FROM LAST NIGHT... Dyer's seat in jeopardy in Howard school board primary : Howard County school board member Allen Dyer, who has battled the panel's attempts to oust him, was in danger of elimination in Tuesday's school board primary, as 14 candidates battled for six spots on November's ballot.

Candidates in the 6th Congressional District ran from polling place to polling place this morning, confronting particularly low turnouts despite the sunny, warm weather. Still, the candidates were confident in their get-out-the-vote operation and suggested that turnout for today's primary -- in which Marylanders will help choose a GOP presidential candidate and settle a handful of highly competitive congressional races -- might be higher in the afternoon. "There's a lot of energy, there's a lot of enthusiasm," said state Sen. Rob Garagiola, a leading Democrat in the race.

With a local judicial race, a couple of congressional nominations and the Republican presidential nomination hanging in the balance, Harford County voters will have something to decide if they bother to show up at the polls for Tuesday's presidential primary election. Six days of early voting for the primary closed Thursday evening with 3,246 casting ballots at the McFaul Activity Center in Bel Air. The total represents 2.56 percent of Harford's 126,736 registered Republican and Democratic voters, according to the Maryland Board of Elections.

With the addition of early voting to the local political scene, a new dynamic has been added to the electoral process. Even so, it appears based on turnout the tradition of going out to vote on an official Election Day has something of a luster that doesn't carry over to the election days of the early voting schedule. Either way, the early voting participation numbers indicate voter turnout will be anemic come Tuesday, April 3. That's not just a shame. It's a disgrace. Men and women remain in harm's way overseas fighting to secure a nation - actually more of an ungovernable territory - that was used as base of operations for the9/11attacks of a decade ago. In other words, they're fighting to protect our basic freedoms from those who would impose a particular brand of tyranny, the imposition of a particular variety of religious law. This is counter to our tradition of acknowledging that the almighty is revealed to different people in different ways, and that faith is a matter of personal choice.

A photo caption in yesterday's editions stated incorrectly that under state law alcoholic beverages would not be sold during primary election polling hours.The Sun regrets the errors.Perfect weather is forecast today for the Maryland primary election to choose Democratic and Republican candidates for governor, U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives, and for scores of state and local offices.The state's 1,702 polling places open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Registered voters are reminded to bring identification.

Deadline to change party affiliation for primary is Monday The Howard County Board of Elections reminds those who plan to vote in the Maryland primary election in September that the deadline to change political party affiliation, or change to or from the unaffiliated designation, is 9 p.m. Monday. The gubernatorial primary election will be held Sept. 10. Voters who want to take part in the Democratic or Republican primary elections must register with the party they want to join. Information: 410-313-5820.

Cecil County voters, who did not take part in early voting, set to end Thursday, will get their chance to make their voices heard on the regular primary election day on Tuesday, April 3, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. This year is the first voting for offices created when voters, after many previous failed attempts, approved a home rule charter for the county in the 2010 general election. The primary election also features an interesting judicial race involving three candidates. Both Republicans and Democrats can vote for two of the three.

Early voting for this year's April 3 federal primary election in Maryland begins Saturday and continues through Thursday. Forty-six early voting centers will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day except for Sunday, when the centers will be open from noon to 6 p.m. A full list of voting centers in the state can be found on the State Board of Elections website at http://www.elections.state.md.us/voting/early_voting.html or by calling 800-222- VOTE...