With the Maryland primary election just two weeks away, early voting is underway in Montgomery County. Voters who want to avoid the Election Day rush can cast their ballot at any of the county’s 14 early voting sites from May 2 through 9.
Each center will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Races on the ballot include those for U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, the Montgomery County Board of Education and judges for Montgomery County Circuit Court. Check out more on how to make a plan to vote here and find information on the candidates in the MoCo360 Voters Guide.
“The busiest time to vote early is the last hour of the last day [of early voting],” Montgomery County Board of Elections President David Naimon said Wednesday. “If voters have decided who they’re voting for before that time, you’re less likely to run into lines if you vote earlier in the early voting period.”
If you missed the April 23 advanced voter registration deadline, same-day registration is allowed, which is in effect during the eight days of early voting at early voting centers or on the day of the primary election at your polling place. However, you may be directed to file a provisional ballot. If you’re already registered to vote, you cannot change your party affiliation at same-day registration.
You may register in person during the eight-day early voting period at any early voting center in the county or at your assigned polling place on the day of the election. You must have a document that proves where you live, such as a Maryland driver’s license, an ID card, a change of address card, or a paycheck, bank statement, utility bill, or other government document with your name and address. You can vote immediately after registering.
If you applied for a mail-in ballot but decide you would rather vote early in-person, you will have to fill out a provisional ballot so officials can ensure you only voted once. Naimon suggested that as an alternative, you can fill out your mail-in ballot and turn it in at a drop-box at an early voting site if you don’t want to mail it.
Here is a list of early voting sites:
- Activity Center at Bohrer Park Social Hall, 506 S. Frederick Avenue, Gaithersburg;
- Bauer Drive Community Recreation Center, 14625 Bauer Drive, Rockville;
- Damascus Community Recreation Center Social Hall, 25520 Oak Drive, Damascus;
- Executive Office Building Auditorium 101 Monroe St., Rockville;
- Germantown Community Recreation Center 18905 Kingsview Road, Germantown;
- Jane E. Lawton Community Recreation Center Social Hall, 4301 Willow Lane, Chevy Chase;
- Marilyn J. Praisner Community Recreation Center, 14906 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville;
- Mid-County Community Recreation Center Social Hall, 2004 Queensguard Road, Silver Spring;
- Nancy H. Dacek North Potomac Community Recreation Center, 13850 Travilah Road, Rockville;
- Potomac Community Recreation Center, 11315 Falls Road, Potomac;
- Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department, 17921 Brooke Road, Sandy Spring;
- Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza, One Veterans Place, Silver Spring;
- Wheaton Library & Community Recreation Center, 11701 Georgia Ave., Wheaton; and
- White Oak Community Recreation Center, 1700 April Lane, Silver Spring.
Naimon said voters can also text EV and their zip code to 77788 to find out the location of the nearest early voting site.
“Anyone in Montgomery County can vote anywhere in Montgomery County for early voting,” Naimon said.
However, on the May 14 primary election day, voters can only vote at their assigned precinct.
Party primaries are open to Montgomery County residents registered to vote and enrolled in that party. Primary races for school board, which are nonpartisan, are open to voters enrolled in political parties and to unaffiliated voters.
Depending on your district, you may be voting in the Congressional District 6 or District 8 race. You can find your district by entering your address on the Maryland General Assembly’s lookup tool.
In the race for the U.S. Senate, frontrunners Angela Alsobrooks, who is Prince George’s county executive, and Rep. David Trone (Dist. 6) lead a field of lesser known challengers. Former Gov. Larry Hogan is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination.
In the 6th Congressional District race, the contenders seek to replace Trone, who represents the district that includes Allegany, Frederick, Garrett and Washington counties and portions of Montgomery but is running instead for the U.S. Senate. Ten Democrats and six Republicans are vying for the seat.
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin is running for the Democratic nomination in the 8th Congressional District race. He faces Eric Felber, a physician who has not run a public campaign. On the Republican side, Cheryl Riley and Michael Yadeta are seeking the nomination.
In the county school board race, three incumbents are among the 14 candidates running for four-year terms: school board Vice President Lynne Harris (At-large), 61, and board members Rebecca Smondrowski (Dist. 2), 55, of Gaithersburg, and Shebra Evans (Dist. 4), 52, of Silver Spring.
Harris, who is running for a second term, is facing five at-large candidates: Laytonsville resident Sharif Hidayat, 51; Bethesda resident Melissa Kim; Germantown resident Jonathan Long, 52; Silver Spring resident Rita Montoya; and Brookeville resident Fitzgerald Mofor, 29.
In District 2, Smondrowski is running for a fourth term against Gaithersburg resident Brenda Diaz; Rockville resident Ricky Mui, 45; Rockville resident Aby Thioye; and Rockville resident Natalie Zimmerman, 29.
Evans is running for a third term against Silver Spring resident Bethany Mandel, 38, and Silver Spring resident Laura Stewart, 53, for the District 4 seat.
In the race for Montgomery County Circuit Court, four “sitting judges” —Marybeth Ayres, Jennifer Fairfax, Louis Leibowitz and J. Bradford McCullough —are running to retain their seats for a 15-year term in a contested election against challenger and Rockville attorney Marylin Pierre.
