Medill News Service reporters provide live updates from polling places across Maryland and Washington on Election Day.
These reports are published in conjunction with the Washington Post.
6:07 p.m. – Few voters feel strongly towards Alsobrooks
By Ananya Chag
Democratic voters in Montgomery County said they’ve struggled with voting against former Republican Governor Larry Hogan for the senate seat.
“God I really love that guy, I’d vote for him for President,” Roberta “Bobby” Hammer, 49, said, just after voting at Poolesville Elementary School. “But we can’t lose the house,” Hammer said, referring to the Democratic party’s potential to win majority control of the Senate.
Hammer said that the “majority of the reason” she voted was for her three kids, two of them grown. While the family is Christian, she said that “female rights” were important when it came to abortion, and ultimately “opportunities” that her children “can and should have in life should never be anyone else’s decision.
”Hammer added that after talking with some other people about “struggling” with her vote, she was “convinced” to vote against Hogan, but “sad.
”Hammer also told the Post that even though she voted for Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, she didn’t know whether the senate candidate would best represent her interests.“It’s a gamble,” she said.
5:49 p.m. – Blue-collar workers vote for Trump and Hogan
By Sonya Dymova and Erica Schmitt
Plastered with Trump and Hogan signs, Dundalk, Md., stands out as a Republican stronghold in Baltimore County, which has been trending more Democratic in recent years.
At Logan Elementary School, most voters appeared to overwhelmingly vote for former President Donald Trump and former Governor Larry Hogan, citing concerns about immigration and economic policies impacting local blue-collar workers.
“My job is starting to get put on the wayside for cheaper labor,” said Justin Weber, a 36-year-old Dundalk resident who has worked in construction for 15 years. “To be honest, it’s costing me to try and find another job.”
Other voters echoed their support for Trump and Hogan, citing the impact of hyperinflation over the past four years on the blue-collar businesses where they work.
“I voted for Trump because my dollar went a lot further when he was in power and I had no problems with what he was doing,” said Brennan Howell, a 40-year-old industrial mechanic who voted Republican for both major races.
5:03 p.m. – FREDERICK COUNTY VOTERS ARRIVING TO THE POLLS INFORMED
By Caroline Killilea
As of 4:00 p.m., 1,365 Frederick County residents have voted at Orchard Grove Elementary School, according to the polling location’s chief judges.
This morning, 55 voters lined up early to cast their ballots, and the chief judges expect a post-work rush this evening.
Geoffrey Grammer, who ran against April McClain Delaney in the Democratic primary for Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, is outside Orchard Grove campaigning for Delaney. After dropping out of the race, Grammer endorsed Delaney and expressed confidence in her candidacy. “What I can tell you is she’s running for moral reasons because she wants to make the sixth district better,” he said.
Graham also noted that voters seem well-informed on the issues. “A lot of people are coming in informed. They know who they want to vote for, and they’ve done their homework. And that’s been really good to see. So it’s a very engaged electorate this election.”
4:31 p.m. – Marylanders Back Trump, Hogan Despite Divergent Views on Reproductive Rights
By Sonya Dymova and Erica Schmitt
Deborah Carr, 43, persuaded her partner, Joseph Giffin, 44, to vote in the election out of a sense of civic duty, though he claims it was Elon Musk who ultimately influenced him.
The warehouse workers cast their ballots for former President Trump and former Governor Larry Hogan at Logan Elementary School in Dundalk, Md., each motivated by different reasons.
“Immigration is big to me: When we have kids and, and elderly that are going hungry, it really can’t bring too much more of a drain on the economy,” Carr said. “It needs to be done in a more checks and balances environment.”
“I just like my freedom, so I’ll never vote Democrat,” Giffin added.
Despite voting for Republican candidates on the ballot, the couple is in favor of Question 1, a constitutional amendment that seeks to codify reproductive freedom and access to abortion in the state, as well as protect patients and providers from criminal charges stemming from abortion bans in other states.
“My significant other, he believes that he shouldn’t have any right to tell our daughter or any other woman what they should or shouldn’t do, and that’s exactly where I fall,” Carr said as Giffin nodded.
Giffin voted “No” by mistake.“Is that what it was?” he asked, appearing surprised. “It’s very complicated. Just say yes or no.”
Carr agreed and said it was too complicated for some constituents to understand.
”We don’t have a higher education — we have GEDs and we have high school graduates,” she said. “And some of the ways that those things are worded are very, very confusing.”
4:30 p.m. – PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY VOTERS CLASH ON DEMOCRATS’ COMMITMENT TO CLASS ISSUES
By Marisa Guerra Echeverria
When Rebecca Lasky, 42, voted at the Huntington Community Center mid-afternoon, she refused to vote for a Senate candidate.
Lasky, a dog groomer living in Bowie, Md., said her decision stemmed from her distrust in Angela Alsobrooks.
While she knew she did not want to vote for former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, she said she was “pissed off” that Alsobrooks improperly claimed tax exemptions for her properties while she had a comfortable salary compared to her constituents.
“We’re all struggling out here just trying to put groceries and gas in our car and we can barely get tax breaks when we’re poor, middle class,” Lasky said.
At the same time, another Bowie resident, William Rodriguez-Lott, 56, believes Democratic candidates up and down the ballot better represent middle and working-class interests.
Rodriguez-Lott, who takes turns as a nurse, truck driver and volunteer firefighter, said he believes Democrats have put actions behind their appeals to the working classes.
“I’m all for equal rights and giving middle and lower-class people a chance to show we could do better if given the opportunity,” Rodriguez-Lott said.
4:28 p.m. – PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY TRUMP-HOGAN VOTER BACKS PRO-CHOICE BALLOT MEASURE
By Hannah Webster
At Huntington Community Center, lifelong Prince George’s County resident Dean Brown, 44, cast his ballot for Republicans Donald Trump for President and former Governor Larry Hogan for Senator.
Brown cited economic concerns as his top priority, adding that his rent had reached $1865 due to inflation. He also said he was concerned about restrictions on gun ownership since people had broken into his house in the past.
Still, Brown voted yes on Question 1, which supports the constitutional right to an abortion in Maryland. He said he respects people’s rights to make those decisions for themself since he and his partner considered an abortion when he was younger.
“I decided not to, but I don’t discourage anybody from it,” he said. “If that’s what you want to do, go for it.“
3:57 p.m. – Military family in Baltimore County, MD votes for Trump, criticizes Biden’s Afghanistan withdraw
By Audrey Pachuta
For Kevin Prem and Ashley Taylor, voting for former President Trump was about returning to a time they felt was better.
Prem, a combat veteran who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bahrain, criticized policies under the Biden-Harris administration, especially those affecting military personnel and their families. He pointed to President Biden’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, which resulted in the deaths of 13 American service members, as his primary motive to visit the polls.
“I’ll be damned if I don’t say something,” Prem said after casting his vote at Logan Elementary School in Dundalk.
Taylor, a 37-year-old store manager and Prem’s wife, agreed. She said she felt that Trump prioritized American citizens over foreign interests in a way his opponents did not.“
Life was better, life was peaceful, life was easier when Trump was in office,” Taylor said.
She cited rising costs as a major concern and echoed her husband’s view that re-electing Trump was the answer to their financial worries.
“When you’re on a plane and it’s going down, you have to put your own mask on first, and that’s what we have to do here in America,” Taylor said.
3:15 p.m. – Harris voter votes to bring things ‘back to normal’
By Raj Ghanekar
The 2016 election between former President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton is front of mind for Cynthia Pendergraph, a Montgomery County resident.
The 55-year-old said that she “still [has] a lot of PTSD” from Trump’s win eight years ago, but after she cast her ballot for Kamala Harris at Poolesville Elementary School, she told the Washington Post she’s hopeful the vice president’s victory would allow the country to get “back to normal.”
Pendergraph said Trump’s rhetoric is too divisive, while Harris’s messaging speaks more to the unity she wants and gives her hope for deeper bipartisan cooperation.
“I feel like she’ll bring some Republicans into her actual cabinet, which will help us see the other side, and so we can actually have a conversation again,” Pendergraph said.
Pendergraph said she voted for Democrats down the ticket.
Reproductive rights was a big motivation for her choice in the Senate race, picking Prince George’s County executive Angela Alsobrooks over former Republican governor of Maryland Larry Hogan.
“I don’t really trust that the Republicans will keep their word, because they haven’t kept their word. Why should they start now?” Pendergraph said.
2:44 p.m. – Early Voters in Catonsville Mobilize in Different Ways on Election Day
By Erica Schmitt
Some early voters in Catonsville, Maryland are mobilizing in other ways on Election Day.
Mark Weaver, the president of the Southwest Baltimore county Democratic club, said he cast his ballot earlier in the week to focus on putting up posters in favor of Democratic candidate Angela Alsobrooks for senate and Question 1, which asks if the state should protect abortion rights in the constitution, across local polling stations like Catonsville High School.
“My task today is to make sure that all our local polling sites have signs. I’ve been [to] around 10 of them,” Weaver said.
Weaver also added that several members of the Democratic club traveled to Pennsylvania in the morning to help mobilize Democratic voters.
Meanwhile, Nancy Curry, a 75-year-old retiree, cast her ballot last week and spent the day canvassing in support of former President Donald Trump at Hillcrest Elementary School in Catonsville.
“I just feel like I needed to do my part today,” Curry said. “I think it’s really good versus evil, with the extreme policies on the other side, I’m concerned for my children and my grandchildren.”
Polling locations are expected to stay open the remainder of today, with a majority open until 7 p.m. in Catonsville.
2:30 p.m. – Voters ‘sad’ to go against Hogan
By Ananya Chag
Democratic voters in Montgomery County said they’ve struggled with voting against former Republican Governor Larry Hogan for the senate seat.
“God I really love that guy, I’d vote for him for President,” Roberta “Bobby” Hammer, 49, said, just after voting at Poolesville Elementary School. “But we can’t lose the house,” Hammer said, referring to the Democratic party’s potential to win majority control of the Senate.
Hammer said that the “majority of the reason” she voted was for her three kids, two of them grown. While the family is Christian, she said that “female rights” were important when it came to abortion, and ultimately “opportunities” that her children “can and should have in life should never be anyone else’s decision.”
Hammer added that after talking with some other people about “struggling” with her vote, she was “convinced” to vote against Hogan, but “sad.”
Hammer also told the Post that even though she voted for Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, she didn’t know whether the senate candidate would best represent her interests.“It’s a gamble,” she said.
2:07 p.m. – Marylander votes libertarian in Senate race over COVID lockdown resentment
By Sonya Dymova
John Dingle, a 56-year-old small business owner, voted for Mike Scott, the Senate Libertarian candidate, despite admitting he had no idea who the candidate was.
Walking out of Hillcrest Elementary in Catonsville, Md., he said what mattered most to him was voting against former governor and Republican nominee Larry Hogan.
“I voted against everybody that took my rights away during COVID,” Dingle said. “Governor Hogan did not allow us to assemble. He kept casinos, liquor stores open to close churches.”
Regarding the presidential race, Dingle was more deliberate in his choice. “I voted for Trump because he ran the government great for three and a half years until COVID came,” Dingle said. “I believe he gave too much power to Fauci.”
1:37 p.m. – Voters in Baltimore County vote Hogan based on experience, Alsobrooks for retaining blue majority
By Sonya Dymova, Audrey Pachuta and Erica Schmitt
At Hillcrest Elementary in Catonsville, Maryland voters in Baltimore County expressed support for Republican Larry Hogan for Senate, citing his previous experience as governor. Meanwhile, several Angela Alsobrooks supporters said they were voting for the Democrat to maintain the party’s control of the Senate.
“I went with the [former] governor,” Dan Noble, a 58-year-old federal government employee said. “For eight years, I feel like he did a really good job, and I know more about him than I do Alsobrooks.”
Some voters were willing to vote across party lines to extend their support for Hogan. Maria Czajkowski, a 66-year-old retiree voted for Vice President Harris in the presidential election but chose the Republican nominee for Senate.
“I know the argument for not voting for him, but I think he’s his own person and I respect what he’s done in the past,” she said.
For other voters, the choice came down to maintaining a Democratic majority in the Senate rather than Alsobrooks’ individual policies.
“Usually I vote for someone I feel strongly about, but in this case, I just feel strong about the fact that we can’t lose the Senate,” Regina Barkdull, a 60-year-old architect and registered Democrat said.
1:08 p.m. – Republican voters in Frederick County cast ballots in favor of enshrining abortion rights
By Eli Kronenberg and Caroline Killilea
Bruce Ricci, donning his MAGA hat to the polls, voted for Donald Trump. “I just think he’s a great guy,” Ricci said, adding he keeps the country “in hold.”
At the same time, Ricci strongly believes in a woman’s right to have an abortion and voted to enshrine abortion rights in Maryland’s constitution. “It’s just a very simple thing. You know, it shouldn’t be something that the government has a right to decide.”
Richard Howe, a 65-year-old CEO, said he voted straight-ticket Republican for the abortion amendment. “A woman’s fundamental right to choose is something I believe in,” Howe said.
Howe said he had no concerns that Trump, Hogan or Parrott would undermine abortion rights. “None of the candidates on the ticket have pledged to do anything,” he said. “It’s already been adjudicated by the Supreme Court. The worst [Trump] could do is add another Supreme Court justice.”
1:00 p.m. – Voters swap Harris votes in swing states for third-party votes in blue states
By Emma Richman
Some voters across the country are participating in the Swap Your Vote campaign to protest the Biden administration’s policy on Israel’s war on Gaza while also preventing a second Trump presidency.
Sumner Crenshaw, a 39-year-old Frederick, MD resident, said she swapped her vote for president with a swing state voter in Pennsylvania. Crenshaw voted third party for Socialist candidate Claudia de la Cruz, while her counterpart in Philadelphia voted for Vice President Kamala Harris.
“That way you get the harm reduction in that you are voting for the candidate most likely to do good, which is Harris-Walz,” Crenshaw said. “But you’re also still getting to get your voice heard that we are very frustrated with the current administration.”
A registered Democrat, Crenshaw said she voted blue for the other races on the ballot.
In addition to sending the Democratic Party a message that they should listen to progressive voters, Crenshaw said she hoped the effort would help get third-party candidates a larger share of the vote to secure more public funding in the future.
So far nearly 12,000 voters have swapped their vote, according to The Swap Your Vote campaign.
12:20 p.m. – Trump pushes a potential Republican away from party
By Emma Richman
There’s a steady stream of voters coming in and out of Lincoln Elementary School in Frederick, MD.
Peter Parker, a 74-year-old Navy veteran and retired restaurant worker said he thought about switching to the Republican Party in 2016, but Trump stopped him.
Parker said he is totally against former President Trump and he voted for Vice President Kamala Harris. He cited his religion and the Trump family’s racism as the main reason why.
“I’m a Christian and that’s not the way God wants things,” Parker told The Post. “Anyone that’s got a problem with race is against God.”
12:15 p.m. – Childcare costs from of mind for Germantown voter
By Jonas Kalderon Blum
Three generations of one family came to the polls at Germantown Elementary with one word in mind: affordability.
Grandmother Yulon Wimbush, 54, with her 11-month-old grandson in hand said, “childcare is too expensive. The Maryland voucher is no where near enough.”
Her daughter-in-law, Skylyn Wright, 26, added, “his daycare is more than my rent.”
Both said they voted for Kamala Harris, Angela Alsobrooks, and April McClain-Delaney.
She also said the right to abortion is paramount for her. “The future is counting on us…we need to protect the same rights my mom had,” Wright said.
Wimbush agreed and said, “Our rights are on the line. I certainly don’t want anything stripped away from me.”
She said she hopes men will also choose to support women’s freedom. “A lot of men don’t like women to overpower them, but that’s not it. It’s not overpower, it’s a balance. where I fall short you pick me up, where you fall short I pick you up.”
11:48 a.m. – HARRIS-HOGAN VOTERS ON WOMENS HEALTH
By Marisa Guerra Echeverria and Hannah Webster
At Arrowhead Elementary School in Upper Marlboro, Md., some split-ticket voters cited women’s health care as a top issue.
First-time voter Chanae Fowler Hewitt, 45, said she voted for Vice President Kamala Harris and former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan due to her past experiences with women’s health.
The mother of three referenced her own pregnancy complications and said her son was born through IVF and surrogacy.
“He said to me this morning that if certain laws were passed 17 years ago, he wouldn’t be here. So that really drove me to come out today to make sure I voted for that,” Fowler Hewitt said.
Despite statewide concerns of Hogan caucusing with Republicans on abortion restriction, Fowler Hewitt said she could not vote for Alsobrooks because she was unhappy with how Alsobrooks’ office handled her daughter’s sexual assault in 2019.
“After that, Hogan got my vote,” Fowler Hewitt said.
Showing up to vote in a pink blazer and a pin from Delta Sigma Theta — a historically African American sorority — Mia Jordan also split her ticket to vote for Harris and Hogan.
Jordan, who is in her forties, said reproductive freedom was a top issue, with both herself and her ten-year-old daughter in mind. While she said that the Republican Party does not consult the right experts regarding women’s health, she trusted Hogan because of his work as Governor.
“We need a very focused and upright individual to be represented in that party,” Jordan said. “I don’t think that he’s a party line guy.”
11:40 a.m. – FREDERICK COUNTY VOTERS ON DELANEY V. PARROTT RACE
By Caroline Killilea
Democratic voters in Frederick County, Maryland say they don’t trust Republican Neil Parrott as the Sixth Congressional District’s Representative in the House.
“I think he’s representing certain groups and not protecting everybody,” said Tav Laskauskas, 40.
“That’s a problem for me.”Jennifer Gamertsfelder, 37, says she cast her ballot for Delaney both to vote with her party and because she felt strongly that Parrott shouldn’t have the House seat. “I did an anti-vote. I was anti-Parrott, mostly, to be honest.”
11:38 a.m. – Montgomery County Voter Splits with Family at the Polls
By Jonas Kalderon Blum
28-year-old Kat Schaufele brought her young daughter with her to Roberto W. Clemente Middle School to vote for all the Democrats on her Montgomery County ballot, even though she felt torn on the Senate race.“I struggled with the Senate because I definitely want to keep the Senate blue, but I liked Larry Hogan as governor,” Schaufele said.
Originally from Anne Arundel county, Schaufele said her vote definitely opposed many people in her extended family. “They’re all red all the way.”While she’s registered as a Democrat, she said she sees herself as down the middle, “red and blue just like Maryland.” She is hopeful “the world is a little less chaotic before [her daughter] turns 18.”
11:35 a.m. – Elderly voters on Trump
By Ananya Chag
Elderly voters in Montgomery County are expressing sentiments about wanting to “keep Trump out of office.”
Hand in hand with her husband, Pamela Loomis, 67, told the Post after voting at Roberte Clemente Middle School that she didn’t “think Trump was mentally competent.” She said that she and her husband both proudly voted for Harris.
“It’d be a disaster to get Trump back in,” Phyllis Palmer, 77, said, adding that she was a “Democrat all the way.” She said she’s staying positive and hopes to get the “right people in there.” She added that she didn’t plan on watching the polls and she liked to just “hear what happens.”
11:33 a.m. – New mom prefers Harris, cites the economy as reason why
By Raj Ghanekar
New mom Deborah Aning went to vote at Roberto W. Clemente Middle School in Montgomery County around lunchtime, giving the 30-year-old a chance to beat the afternoon rush.
Aning, who voted for Kamala Harris, says the economy has put pressure on her as a prospective homeowner and with a young son at home. She worries whether she’ll be able to consistently afford baby formula or buy a home someday. But Harris’s policies give her hope.
“I think what she’s bringing will help me as a new mom and as a new parent, and I think that it’ll give Americans a chance to feel that they can also achieve their financial goals and dreams,” Aning said.
But her young family wasn’t the only thing on her mind. The decision was also based on what’s best for her elderly parents.
“When you see a retiree, they have contributed their years into working in American society,” Aning said. “They deserve to have some sort of income so they can survive.”
10:50 a.m. – Voting blue in Upper Marlboro
By Coby Potischman
Kayleen Irizarry, 53, brought her grandson Damian to the polls with her “to hold my hand as we voted for the first Madam President” and said that she is voting straight-ticket Democratic.
She had considered voting for former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, but felt that the stakes of Senate control were too high.
Irizarry, who was born in Puerto Rico and lived there until the age of five, donned a red “Puerto Rico” hat and said that she is “making a statement” about the controversial “garbage” remarks made about the territory at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally.
In a follow-up text message, she said “we Puerto Ricans, no matter the percentage of PR blood, whether born in PR or anywhere, hold a special bond to the island and the PR flag. It’s sacred. When poked, we come together and take action.”
10:50 a.m. – Voters still torn on Maryland Senate
By Eli Kronenberg
In Maryland’s hotly contested Senate race between Democratic Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and Republican former Governor Larry Hogan, some voters are still undecided, even moments before entering their polling place.
Malcom Albright, a 33-year-old grocery store night crew worker voting at Lincoln Elementary School in Frederick County, told The Post he still hadn’t made up his mind in the Senate race and would make a “snap decision” in the ballot box. “I really kinda like Hogan and what he was doing beforehand — the way he’s more bipartisan and tries to make common ground between both parties,” Albright said.
But ultimately, Albright said he would probably vote for Alsobrooks “to give Democrats more seat power.” Albright is voting for Kamala Harris, who he said is “better aligned toward where we should be going as a society.”
10:04. a.m. – Upper Marlboro Judge on Harris-Stein ballot errors
By Marisa Guerra Echeverria, Coby Potischman and Hannah Webster
Darlene Rowe, a Chief Judge at Arrowhead Elementary School in Upper Marlboro, Md. said a woman complained that her vote was switched from Kamala Harris to Jill Stein between 8 and 8:15 a.m. this morning.
Since then, 12 others have complained of the same issue, Rowe said. Of those 13, two ballots were spoiled and the rest caught the mistake when reviewing their selection before submitting their ballot.
8:36 a.m. – Ward 8 voters say they will still support Trayon White despite indictment
By Heather Zhu and Sarah Lin
Rodney Brown, 49, said that he will continue to support Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White amid his indictment on federal bribery changes because of White’s support of a law to allow a “second chance” for people who are incarcerated from crimes they committed as children.
“I know he’s innocent until proven guilty. But Trayon does a lot for the community,” Brown said at Ferebee-Hope Recreation Center, a polling site in southeast DC.
Brown, who is formerly incarcerated, said that he is “in the process of seeking justice” for a murder charge which he said he was wrongfully convicted for. Brown praised White for his support of a DC law which “gives people a second chance” if they were incarcerated when they were young, have served more than a certain period of time in prison and maintained a good record while incarcerated.
DC Council passed the Second Look Amendment Act in 2021, an expansion of the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act which allows a person who committed a crime before the age of 25 and who has served at least 15 years in prison to petition to have their sentence reviewed.
“This law makes us eligible for a second chance,” Brown said.
Kayla Dunbar, 26, said she will also continue to vote for White based off his previous community work as a Councilmember.
“We love him. I voted for him. And you know why? Because every other politician in the world has gone through something,” she said at Ferebee-Hope Recreation Center. “Everybody’s going to do something. As long as you’re doing your job in the community, I have nothing.”
7:51 a.m. – Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White claims charges don’t affect his re-election run
By Heather Zhu and Sarah Lin
Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White said his federal bribery indictment charges will not affect his capacity to serve as an elected official, declining to comment further.
White stood outside Ferebee-Hope Recreation Center in Southeast DC, wearing a red beanie and a navy blue suit. He talked to and shook hands with constituents and voters who arrived at the voting site. He also took a selfie with an election worker, who was promptly asked to leave afterward.“I’m still here working, doing God’s work. I continue to do it as long as God gives me the ability to do it. Just want to tell people I’m still out here, still working,” White said.
He said he voted for himself, but declined to comment on his vote for the presidential election. He also said he did not support Initiative 83, calling it “too complicated.”
