A top Maryland election official reports on early-voting kick-off. Plus, a call for election workers.

Midday

Millions of people around the country have already cast a ballot in this year’s election. With competitive races for President and for U.S. Senate, Maryland voters are expected to turnout in high numbers.

The 2020 election, which put President Joe Biden into office, saw 66% participation. Two years later, in the 2022 midterms, only 46% of eligible voters cast ballots.

But besides low turnout, recent election suffered from a lack of poll workers. And with early voting in Maryland beginning in 10 days, election officials are continuing to call for more residents to get involved in the election process.

Marylanders working to ensure a secure and fair election join Midday today. They are organizing to get as many people as possible to cast votes, and they are getting young people involved in the electoral process.

Jared DeMarinis is Maryland’s State Administrator of Elections. We ask him about overseeing the state's election at a time of heightened paranoia and fearmongering around electoral integrity.

Then, we talk to Sam Novey, Co-Founder of Baltimore Votes Coalition. He is working to get more people involved in the election process, including young people. High school students Aleni Lila and James McLaughlin are new election judges participating in the upcoming election.

Maryland residents can register to vote at the polls during early voting and on Election Day.

The deadline to register to vote online is Oct. 15 by 11:59 p.m. By mail, registration must be postmarked by 5:00 p.m. local time on Oct. 15.

Early voting starts on Oct. 24 and runs through Oct 31, where voters can cast their ballots at any specified early voting center in their county. The final day for voters to cast their ballots in-person is on Election Day, Nov 5.

You can find more information at the State Board of Election website, vote.md.gov.

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