WBAL TV

Maryland voters will decide when they vote Nov. 4 whether to join 31 other states that currently allow early voting, but the idea is seeing some opposition.

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Supporters of the idea applauded the concept as providing greater access to the polls.

“Early voting provides opportunities for people who work long hours, who may work far away from their home so they can’t get to the polling place easily,” said Nancy Soreng, vice president of the League of Women Voters.

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It would allow ballots to be cast up to two weeks before Election Day. It also allows for a no-excuse absentee ballot, meaning voters would no longer have to sign an oath indicating that they won’t be in town to vote in person.

Many Republicans said they are opposed. Anne Arundel County Sen. Janet Greenip said that absentee ballots make the initiative unnecessary and is concerned that it could lead to voter fraud because it allows people to vote anywhere in the state, regardless of where they are registered.

“Anybody who can’t make it on Election Day already has an out. There’s a problem, also, with keeping the polls open. We’re talking about a minimum of three polls per county for 14 days. How do we know that those machines — or whatever we are using — are secure?” Greenip said.

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“We are setting a precedent right now that for the first time ever, we don’t have an Election Day,” Greenip said.

“This only authorizes the General Assembly to create a mechanism so up to two weeks before an election, voters can go to a polling place that may or may not be in their own district and cast their ballots,” Soreng said.

If passed, many officials said they expect a battle at the State House over costs and where the early voting polls will be located.