Thousands of ballots already cast as DC, Maryland and Virginia open for early voting – WTOP News

D.C. early voting begins Monday as the District joins Virginia and Maryland with preelection day in-person voting.

Maryland election officials said turnout across the state exceeded 84,000 ballots cast Saturday and more than 46,000 cast on Sunday.

“I just learned today that I could come Saturday or Sunday. I just thought it was Monday through Friday, so that’s fabulous,” Elizabeth Goodloe-Vaughn of Riverdale told WTOP.

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Goodloe-Vaughn cast her ballot Sunday with her husband, Dunbar High School head football coach Maurice Vaughn, at the College Park Community Center. Vaughn said he came to the early voting site after leading his team to a 21-14 victory Saturday over Roosevelt High School.

“I look at it as an obligation to vote. A lot of people sacrificed a lot of things for us to have this opportunity to vote,” Vaughn said.

A steady stream of voters also filed into the community center gym, where election officials sat at a long table and voters cast ballots at voting machines spread across the gym floor.

Jared Lucero, 18, said that he’s looking forward to casting his first ballot in a presidential election this year.

“I’m pretty excited … I’m just glad that I’m here to vote and feel like I have a voice in the government,” Lucero said, encouraging other young people to vote, “I just say do it … I feel like there should be more young voices.”

Another first time voter among those casting ballots Sunday in College Park was Luis Mendoza.

“I just became a citizen last year … It’s very exciting but it’s also a big responsibility, I think, because this is a very important election,” Mendoza said.

Maryland’s eight days of early voting will end on Halloween this year, while Virginia, which opened early voting Sept. 20, suspends early voting on Nov. 2. D.C.’s early voting will run until Nov 3.

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