On Tuesday, Southern Maryland voters made their voices heard through the ballot in two congressional races, president of the United States and a constitutional amendment on reproductive rights.
In the race to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Democrat Angela Alsobrooks faced Republican Larry Hogan, former Maryland governor.
Alsobrooks appeared to be in the lead as precincts began reporting out Tuesday night. With the majority of precincts reporting, she had collected about 52% of votes to Hogan's 45%.
Without all mail-in voting tallies or provisional ballot counts, though, statewide races were still technically unofficial.
As of late Tuesday night, with most precincts reported in his district, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md., 5th) appeared to easily hold off his Republican challenger, Michelle Talkington.
Hoyer lead with about 66% overall in his district, which includes all of Charles, St. Mary’s and Calvert counties along with portions of Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties. However, he garnered fewer votes in his home county of St. Mary's as well as in Calvert.
Hoyer of Mechanicsville has represented the district since 1981, and touts his work on protecting access to affordable health care, expanding access to economic opportunity and ensuring local military bases and other federal facilities have resources they need.
Vice President Kamala Harris was projected to easily win Maryland's 10 Electoral College votes, beating former President Donald Trump in the state. Across the country, as of Tuesday night that race still hung in the air.
Trump did have more votes than Harris in St. Mary's and Calvert, while Charles voters overwhelmingly voted for Harris.
Maryland leans roughly 2 to 1 Democratic, so any statewide races are always an uphill battles for Republicans or third-party candidates.
Question 1
Reproductive healthcare access was also up for vote in Maryland as voters had the chance to decide state protections on abortion access and whether or not to codify it into the state constitution.
As of unofficial results Tuesday night, with most precincts in the state reporting, the measure was approved statewide. A majority of voters in each of the Southern Maryland counties did vote for the constitutional amendment.
During the 2023 General Assembly, state lawmakers passed an amendment that would enshrine the right to an abortion and “reproductive freedom,” in Maryland’s constitution.
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June of 2022, with a 5-4 vote indicating there is no constitutional right to abortion. Since that summer, the topic of abortion has been a hot-button issue across the nation.
Currently, abortion is legal in Maryland until viability and abortion is legal after viability if the woman’s life or health is endangered or there is a fetal anomaly.
Question 1, or the Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment, would amend the Declaration of Rights in the Maryland Constitution to add a new section that guarantees a right to “reproductive freedom.”
According to the referendum, the term “reproductive freedom” includes “the ability to make and effectuate decisions to prevent, continue or end one’s own pregnancy.
If the amendment is approved by voters, it would prohibit the constitutional right of abortion access from being denied or infringed unless there is a compelling state interest, which would need to be achieved using the least restrictive means.
The referendum was endorsed by Gov. Wes Moore (D), Maryland State Education Association and Pro-Choice Maryland.
Opponents of the referendum include the Maryland Catholic Conference, Maryland Right to Life PAC and Maryland Family Institute.
Order of reporting
After polls closed at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, unofficial votes from the day were made available on the state board of elections website. Those results included early voting totals, mail-in ballots canvassed prior to Election Day and vote tallies from Tuesday.
Provisional ballots will be canvassed on Wednesday, Nov. 13. Counting of mail-in ballots ends on Friday, Nov. 15.
There were more than 21,500 mail-in ballots requested in Charles County, more than 12,500 in St. Mary’s and over 14,000 in Calvert. Statewide, there were about 877,600 mail-in ballots requested; there are more than 4.2 million people registered to vote in Maryland.
Official verification of the vote count and certification of Maryland's election is scheduled for Nov. 15. Statewide certification is expected by Dec. 5, within 30 days of the election, as required by law.
