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County election officials anticipate high voter turnout
Polling hours for local precincts:
Allegany County:
Polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Online –– http:gov.allconet.org/elections/
Garrett County:
Polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Online –– www.co.garrett.md.us/elections
Mineral County:
Polls open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
CUMBERLAND — High turnout is expected as voters around the area cast ballots today.
“From the results of early voting, we expect a good turnout tomorrow,” Lauren Ellifritz, Mineral County clerk, said Monday afternoon. “Based on that and the 2004 election, we expect about 10,000 voters tomorrow.”
The county, which has 18,000 registered voters, already has more than 130 absentee ballots and 1,533 early voters. Ellifritz said she doesn’t think that even a change in weather would affect those numbers.
Polling places in West Virginia open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.
Steve Fratz, director of the Garrett County Board of Elections, expects voter turnout to be somewhere around 75 percent to 80 percent. Statewide, turnout is expected to be near 85 percent, he said.
Fratz said the number of voters could increase if the weather is like it was Monday.
“If it is like today, the people will really get out,” Fratz said Monday. “The elderly, especially, will be able to get out. They will get out more and earlier, which might help counting the ballots instead of having everybody coming in at once at the end of the evening.”
Maryland poll hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Garrett County has 18,200 registered voters and Fratz said that they have already received 1,000 absentee ballots.
Voters interested in staying updated on the results after the polls close can visit the board’s Web site at www.co.garrett.md.us/elections. As precincts come in, Fratz said, the information will be available on the Web site, including a district-by-district breakdown of the referendum vote on Sunday sales of alcohol with a meal.
There is also an expectation of high voter turnout in Allegany County. Kitty Davis, administrator of the Allegany County Board of Elections, said the county is anticipating 80 percent of the 42,171 registered voters to cast their ballots.
She added that when it comes to elections, “Good weather is always a plus.”
Since the 2004 election, there has been an increase of just under 2,000 registered voters in the county.
Allegany County voters also have the opportunity to check election results online at http://gov.allconet.org/elections/.
Contact Sarah Moses at smoses@times-news.com.
