Politics & Government

Election 2012: Questions 6-7, Presidential Race Compel Voters in Broadneck

The chief judge at the Arnold Senior Center said the number of ballot questions were a cause for delay in lines.

Voting lines in Broadneck flowed smoothly on Election Day except for a few hiccups in the afternoon.

A voting machine at the Broadneck Library was found to have a touch-screen error and a replacement had to be ordered, said Chief Judge Bruce Hagelgans. Other than that, the line at the library was among the shortest on the peninsula, with a minimum wait of five to 10 minutes at some points in the day.

Over at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, the roughly hour-long wait to vote wasn’t a humdrum affair—hot beverages were served free to all voters, courtesy of church volunteers. Accompanying the drinks were some patriotic tunes played on piano outside by the church’s music director James Fitzpatrick.

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After voting at St. Patrick’s, Patricia and Rick Thorpe of Providence said their first priority in the election was to cast votes in the presidential race, however state Questions 6 and 7 were also very important to them.

Question 6 gives voters the opportunity to affirm or reverse the state's Civil Mariage Protection act, more commonly referred to as same-sex marriage. Question 7 is the referendum on expanded gamining, including live tables games at the state's casinos and a sixth casino in Prince George's County. 

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“Those were the main ones we came out for,” Patricia Thorpe said.

Thorpe joked that the number of questions she was faced with at the ballot seemed designed to confuse voters. There was seven statewide questions and some counties had specific questions.

Ilene Wellens, the chief judge at the Arnold Senior Center, said the number of questions were a cause for delay in lines.

“It is a large ballot, and that is definitely one of the contributing factors,” she said. “But most come in with their ballots already marked, and that does cut back on the time that they’re in the booths.”

Angela Laudeman of Broadneck said the marriage equality act referendum as well as voting for president brought her out to the polls. It was her first time voting in person, and she said the process was exciting.

“It was pretty exciting to see the long lines. I heard that people had never seen that before here like today,” she said.

The polls had just under an hour to close at the time this article was written, and lines were growing, putting some voters, including those at Broadneck High School, outside in the cold.

The results of the race will be known this evening. Stay with Patch to get up-to-date results as the numbers begin to be released shortly after 8 p.m.


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