CUMBERLAND — With all 19 precincts having been tabulated late Tuesday by the Garrett County Board of Elections, the county issue whether to allow Sunday alcohol sales failed overall by 52.85 percent against the initiative and 47.15 percent for the measure, according to unofficial results.

Lucky for businesses in Swanton and Sang Run, however, only district votes count. Countywide tallies mean nothing. Swanton approved the referendum with 405 votes in favor of the measure, or 51.27 percent, to 385 votes (48.73) against.

Voters in Friendsville, Grantsville/Jennings, Bloomington and Accident all voted against the measure, as did Ryan’s Glade/Red House, Deer Park, Bittinger, Kitzmiller, West Oakland/Crellin and Mountain Lake Park.

Voters in East Oakland and Finzel approved the sale of alcohol on Sundays.

A total of 11,771 of Garrett County’s 18,102 active registered voters cast a ballot, far below what some prognosticators were projecting as late as midday on Tuesday.

Sunday alcohol sales between 1 p.m. and 10 p.m. already is permitted in The Elbow and Avilton. Voters in those two districts approved Sunday alcohol sales in 1998.

Garrett County voters approved slots in Maryland by the narrowest of margins. A total of 5,709 votes, or 50.66 percent, were cast in favor of the constitutional amendment while 49.34 percent, or 5,561 voted against the initiative.

Garrett Countians approved Question 1, or early voting, in Maryland by a 57.42 percent to 42.58 percent margin. The race for two seats — by just two candidates — for the board of education showed Charlotte Sebold as the top vote-getter with 50.59 percent of the vote, or 8,164 votes, to James M. Raley’s 48.83 percent, or 7,880 votes.

Voters overwhelmingly voiced their support for incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett. Bartlett received 68.5 percent of the vote, or 7,733 votes compared to Democratic challenger Jennifer Dougherty’s 3,266 votes (29.08 percent).

Similarly, Maryland’s westernmost county voted in favor of the Republican ticket in the presidential race. Arizona Sen. John McCain and vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin earned 70.16 percent of the 11,771 votes cast through all 19 precincts, or a total of 8,209 votes. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and Joe Biden, on the Democratic ticket, won just 3,285 votes or 28.07 percent of the vote.

The county’s 1,000-plus absentee ballots will be counted for the first time on Thursday. On Monday, election judges will canvass the provisional ballots and on Nov. 14 the county will conduct the second and final canvassing of its absentee ballots.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.