Updated on Nov. 2:
With one more day of early voting left in Maryland and more than 700,000 ballots cast so far, voters have already surpassed the state’s previous early voting record.
The record number of early votes, about 430,000, was set over five days in 2012, according to the state Board of Elections. This year there are eight days of early voting, and 20 more voting places than there were in 2012.
Early voting locations are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily until Nov. 3. This is two hours longer per day than previous years, Maryland State Board of Elections Deputy Administrator Nikki Baines Charlson told the Baltimore Sun.
The number of early voters will most likely “take the strain off of election day,” said Donna Duncan, the Maryland State Board of Elections’ assistant deputy administrator for election policy.
About 800,000 people are expected to vote early in this state before the early voting period is over, Duncan said. That’s about 20 percent of eligible voters in the state, according to the state Board of Elections data.
Maryland has 10 electoral votes to distribute, and has only voted Republican three times since 1960: Richard Nixon in 1972, Ronald Reagan in 1984 and George H. W. Bush in 1988.
In this state, Hillary Clinton is a “safe” win, according to 270towin.com, a website offering historical presidential election insight.
