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Election Day 2024 has arrived and polls in D.C., Maryland and Virginia are now open as voters across the U.S. choose between a former president and a current vice president as their next commander in chief. Here’s what you need to know.
Polls in D.C. and Maryland are taking ballots from voters through 8 p.m. on Tuesday, while polls across Virginia are open until 7 p.m.
As of Tuesday afternoon about 77 million Americans already have voted early, but the Democratic presidential nominee — Vice President Kamala Harris — and the Republican presidential nominee — former President Donald Trump — are still pushing to turn out many millions more supporters for same day voting across the nation.
Election Day marks a near-conclusion to one of the most bewildering, unpredictable and consequential sagas in U.S. political history. For once, the word “unprecedented” has not been overused.
The U.S. has never elected a president who has been convicted of a crime, let alone a former president who survived not one but two unsuccessful assassination attempts. President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race in the middle of an election year also landed Trump the title of oldest person nominated by a major party for the presidency. If elected, he would be the oldest person to take the oath of office and enter the White House in modern American history.
Biden’s decision to exit the race also resulted in one of the shortest-lived Democratic primary election campaigns for Harris. She would be not only the first woman, but the first woman of color and first person of South Asian descent elected president.
She would also be the first person born in California elected to the White House since Richard Nixon was elected to serve as president in 1969. Her husband would make history alongside Harris, becoming the country’s first First Gentleman of the United States.
Maryland
Besides the race for the White House, the U.S. Senate race in Maryland could prove historic as Democratic Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and Republican former Gov. Larry Hogan vie for the seat held by retiring Sen. Ben Cardin.
If Alsobrooks wins, she would be the state’s first Black and first Black female senator, helping Democrats attempt to maintain a hold of the country’s high chamber. If Hogan wins, experts say he could shift the balance of power in the Senate toward the Republican party.
“We have a chance to decide who are going to be the ones sitting in these seats that are going to have a distinct impact, not just on our present but on our future,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said during a live interview Tuesday afternoon on WTOP.
- Voting centers are open until 8 p.m.
- Mail ballot drop boxes are open until 8 p.m.
His comment comes as election officials in Chesapeake Beach issue a warning to voters visiting the city’s Northeast Community Center polling location to plan for about an hour delay when casting their ballot.
“The Town is operating without the electronic poll books that we have had in the past due to a pull back of resources from the State Board of Elections,” official said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “This change has required the Town to replace the poll books with hand written voter authority cards, which is taking more time to process. Lines are currently reported at averaging an hour wait.”
It also follows highly publicized comments from political actors who have concerns about the vote tabulations in states across the country and several bomb threats at polling locations that federal officials have connected to bad actors in Russia.
When asked about his confidence in the Maryland’s ballot counting methods and the security of the 2024 election, Gov. Wes Moore told WTOP he was “very confident and very comfortable” with the work of the board of elections.
“This is a board of elections that is run by someone who has served under Democratic and Republican Governors,” Moore said. “It’s a board of elections that is made up of both Democrats and Republicans and it has been incredibly thoughtful about ensuring that we’re going to have a safe and also a transparent and a secure election process.”
Jared DeMarinis, the state administrator of elections for Maryland, said Tuesday the agency had over 1 million people voting in person during the early voting period. More than 600,000 more had voted by mail so far.
“I expect another robust turnout today,” DeMarinis said. “Right now everything has been going smoothly and Marylanders can feel safe and secure in coming out and casting their vote in person.”
He said everything is running according to plan and there was a morning rush at the polls before 10 a.m., when things began to calm down. The agency expected things to pick back up around the evening hours.
“I think there’s a level of excitement,” he said. “You can feel it.”
“You know, I would say that there’s a — there’s a beauty in our democracy, where every two or four or six years, depending on the race, you know, we have a chance to make our voice heard.” Gov. Moore said. “Where power is not passed on by a family, and it’s not passed on by a choice of the person who’s sitting in the seat. It’s passed on through the people.”
DeMarinis said Maryland election results from in person and early voting will be released when the polls close Tuesday. So far, elections officials have already canvased over 320,000 mail-in ballots. Those results will be released Tuesday as well.
“It was pretty fast and well organized,” Godlove Chofong said from outside a Prince George’s County polling location. “We need some change. Very positive change. In this country that is very huge and we really look forward to seeing that.”
Chofong told WTOP he voted on Election Day because he “really wanted to do it in person.”
Cynthia Williams from Bowie said that she participated in early voting but was out at the polls with her granddaughter and great-granddaughter, the latter of whom is too young to cast a ballot.
Williams said she made the decision to bring her great-granddaughter along to the polls because it was important to make the young woman “a part of making history.” She also told WTOP she will be voting for Angela Alsobrooks because “she’s done a great job so far and I think she’ll do great under the leadership of Kamala Harris.”
Williams explained that she cast her vote during early voting Friday in order to “beat the line.” When she realized there was a long line, she decided to return to the ballot box on Saturday afternoon and cast her ballot. Thankfully, she said, there was no line.
In addition to electing candidates to office, Maryland voters will vote on Question 1, creating an amendment enshrining abortion rights in the state’s constitution. While the word “abortion” doesn’t actually appear on the ballot question, the measure would enshrine a “right to reproductive freedom” if passed. Voters will be given the option between voting “for” or “against” the amendment.
Virginia
Besides the race for president, all 11 U.S. House seats held by Virginia are on the ballot. Some of those races are expected to be competitive, including two open seats vacated by Democratic incumbents in Northern Virginia.
Voting centers are open until 7 p.m. If you missed the deadline to update your registration, you can cast a provisional ballot through 7 p.m.
All voters will need a valid form of identification such as a driver’s license, military ID or passport to vote in the state.
Absentee voters should also plan to mail their absentee ballots to the state with a postmark on or before Nov. 5. or received in the mail by noon Friday.
Ballot drop boxes are also available through 7 p.m. on Election Day — a useful option given the speed of the postal service, according to Arlington elections officials.
“Regular mail can take up to 10 days within Arlington,” the statement reads. “We do not recommend mailing a ballot less than 10 days before an election. Completed Mail Ballots can be dropped off in person at the following locations and times.”
Virginians can find their individual polling place and ballot information from the state’s Department of Elections’ lookup tool.
Incumbent Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, who has held a U.S. Senate seat since 2013, is being challenged by Republican Hung Cao.
Competitive races have also formed in Northern Virginia as two incumbents step down from their seats in Congress: Rep. Abigail Spanberger in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District and Rep. Jennifer Wexton in District 10.
Meanwhile, several cities and counties across the region will vote to elect new mayors, council members and school board members.
Virginia voters will also be asked about whether to expand an existing property tax exemption to include the families of veterans who died in the line of duty.
DC
A number of closely watched local issues are on the ballot in the District, including seats on the D.C. Council and an initiative that could drastically change the city’s election process.
- Voting centers are open until 8 p.m.
- Mail ballot drop boxes are open until 8 p.m.
D.C. residents can cast their ballot at any one of 75 vote centers across the District. Same-day registration is also available for those who haven’t registered to vote.
To register when you show up to vote, you must bring an acceptable proof of residence that shows your name and current D.C. address. Registered voters do not need to show ID to vote in person.
A full list of D.C.’s Election Day vote centers is available online.
“I think it’s a civic duty. You gotta vote. Whether or not the district you’re voting in has any chance of one candidate winning or the other, you should still go through and exercise your civic duty,” said one male voter who did not want to be identified.
While voting at the polling station at Annunciation Catholic Church in Northwest, he told WTOP he decided to vote in person because he lives “right across the street” and it was “convenient.”
When asked if there were any specific issues on his mind, the voter responded: “Immigration, the wars that just don’t seem to stop, fiscal policy.”
D.C. voter Tammy MacDonald told WTOP voting was “an important part of being an American,” and that she looked forward to receiving an ‘I voted’ sticker this year.
When asked if there were any issues she was focused on, MacDonald responded: “Reproductive rights is huge. LGBTQIA+ rights are huge. Human rights are huge. I know that D.C. voters don’t make a huge impact on the general election, but it’s important to have a voice.”
Both MacDonald and the unidentified male voter told WTOP they voted against Initiative 83, a ballot measure that would bring ranked choice voting to the District.
WTOP’s Neal Augenstein, Nick Iannelli, Jessica Kronzer, Luke Lukert, Mitchell Miller, Mike Murillo, Thomas Robertson, Will Vitka and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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