Tens of thousands of Montgomery County voters cast their ballots in the first week of early voting in Maryland – with about 41,000 of the county’s eligible active voters hitting the polls in advance of election day on Nov. 8.
With Thursday marking the last day of early voting across Maryland, Montgomery County has seen the second-highest number of voters casting their ballots in the last week, according to unofficial early voter turnout data maintained by the Maryland State Board of Elections.
Board of Elections data currently accounts for Maryland residents who have voted early from Thursday, Oct. 27 through Wednesday, Nov. 2.
Montgomery County trailed only Baltimore County in the number of residents participating in early voting. Baltimore County has seen about 43,000 residents cast their ballots in the last week.
But Montgomery lagged behind other Maryland counties in the percentage of eligible, active voters that cast their ballots during early voting. Of the county’s roughly 670,000 eligible voters, about 6.2% have voted in the last week.
Neighboring Prince George’s County saw about 6.4% of eligible voters participating in early voting. The state’s third-largest county, Baltimore County, saw nearly 8% of eligible voters participate.
Montgomery County saw a steady increase in the number of residents voting early throughout the last week – with about 9,000 people casting their ballots on Wednesday alone.
Five of the 14 early voting centers in Montgomery County have accounted for roughly 20,000 of the ballots cast. The Potomac Community Recreation Center, Jane Lawton Community Recreation Center, Activity Center At Bohrer Park and Silver Spring Civic Building each saw more than 4,000 county residents participate in voting across the last week.
Nearly 300,000 Maryland residents voted early in the 2022 General Election as of Wednesday – comprising about 7% of the state’s total electorate.
Election officials have also received roughly 35% of mail-in ballots requested in Montgomery County. The State Board of Elections sent nearly 140,000 ballots to county residents and about 50,000 have been returned so far.
Montgomery County far outpaced every other Maryland jurisdiction with the number of mail-in ballots requested. Baltimore County had the second-highest number of mail-in ballots sent out at about 90,000.
In total, Maryland residents requested more than 630,000 mail-in ballots for the November general election.
