Early Voting Turnout Breaks Local Records

More voters turned out at early voting centers Friday than on any other day in Anne Arundel County's early voting history.

Check back here throughout Tuesday for live election results. 

By the time early voting ended on Friday evening, a total of 38,140 voters had cast ballots, according to information with the Maryland State Board of Elections. That's an increase of more than 4,000 over 2010's total early voting results, though 2012's numbers only account for 10.9 percent of the total number of registered voters in the county.

Statewide, about 11.6 percent of voters cast ballots early, with Anne Arundel voters somewhere in the middle of the turnout, and Talbot County leading the state with 23 percent of total voter turnout during early voting.

Director for Anne Arundel County's Board of Elections Joe Torre said the goal of early voting, which was enacted in Maryland in 2008, was to draw up to a third of registered voters to polls early. That way, the rush on Election Day wouldn't be so bad.

Torre said he was pleased with the turnout this past week, and said lines had wrapped around the early voting centers in each location. He said he expected more of that on Tuesday.

"It warrants expanding early voting days for presidential elections, I think," Torre said.

Turnout at the Annapolis early voting center—the Bates location of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County—was slightly higher than other centers, with 2,191 on Friday. But each center experienced more than 100 additional voters on Friday than on previous days. 

More Democrats than Republicans showed up at polls early, with 20,057 Democrats and 12,179 Republicans.

Early voting turnout by date:

• Oct. 27—6,521
• Oct. 28—4,583
• Oct. 31—8.123
• Nov. 1—9.073
• Nov. 2—9.840
• Total—38,140 (10 percent of 348,778 registered voters)

Voting turnout by party:

• Democrats—20,057 (13.4 percent of registered)
• Republicans—12,179 (9.7 percent of registered)