Politics & Government

Slow Morning at the Polls

Maryland primary election seemed off to a slow start Tuesday morning.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. across Maryland, but the usual morning rush never materialized Tuesday at , a Germantown polling center that had fetched large turnouts during prior election cycles.

“I’m just not sure how many people are gong to come out and vote,” said Nancy Dacek, secretary of Montgomery County Board of Elections. “It's really so dependent on who's on the top of the ticket.”

Tuesday was the primary election for Maryland. Voters will choose who will appear on the ballot for the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, and vote local school board members.

Find out what's happening in Germantownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

But because only a fifth of registered voters in Montgomery County are looking at that top-of-the-ticket spot — which Republican candidate they’d like to see run for president — it could wind up being a slow, low-turnout primary.

“I support Romney,” said Republican Shawn Dancik, 38, of Germantown.Dancik said he voted for Mitt Romney because he was the “lesser of all evils.”

Find out what's happening in Germantownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I'm a fiscal conservative,” Dancik said. “I don't see any candidates strongly behind that position.”

As of 8 a.m., the steady stream of voters at Martin Luther King Middle School couldn’t even be described as a steady stream. It was more like intermittent drips — a couple of voters bopping in at time, in order to cast votes before work.

Karen Kneller, 57, a food service worker for Montgomery County Public Schools was among the voters at MLK.

“I voted democrat all the way,” Kneller said.

Kneller was joined by Lori Carder, 46, of Germantown, who said “schools and traffic” were the concerns she brought to the ballot box. Carder said she voted for Md. Sen. Rob Garagiola (Dist. 15), a democrat from Germantown, for U.S. Congress.

“I like him,” Carder said. “He seems very honest.”

Valencia McKenzie, 56, of Germantown, said she cast her vote for Garagiola's biggest Democratic rival, Potomac businessman John Delaney. McKenzie said jobs, the economy and access to health care were major issues for her.

“I recently lost a friend of mine,” McKenzie said. “I strongly believe that if she had health care she’d still be here today.”

The polls will remain open until 8 p.m. Check back with Patch for continuing coverage.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here