It’s an exciting year for elections, what with the primary drama in the presidential election and the hotly contested mayoral race in Baltimore.
Engaged voters translated into long lines at the polls yesterday, the first day for early voting in the state. According to the Sun, 5,000 people cast votes yesterday, four times as many as did back in 2011, during the most recent mayoral primary. And while Baltimore’s news-getting mayoral race might have been what drove some voters to the polls, it wasn’t the only reason — turnout across the state was about three times as high as it was during the last presidential election.
A number of groups are hoping to help increase the trend, providing information on candidates and encouraging those eligible–including some felons, thanks to a new state law— to do their civic duty. “The groups that are not showing up to vote are the ones that have to be targeted. The largest group that we have that is not voting is 18-35,” longtime civil rights leader Marvin “Doc” Cheatham told the Afro American. “We have to get that age bracket registered and voting.”
