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In Charles County, few voters seem aware that early voting is an option this year, according to the county's election director.

But it isn't because the local election board hasn't made the information public, said Director Tracy Dickerson. It has distributed fliers, advertised on Comcast and included early voting information in direct mailings.

"For most of the people in the state voting on it, nobody seems to be aware of it," Dickerson said.

Regardless of whether residents know about early voting — or take advantage of it — Maryland will initiate early voting statewide this year. For the primary election, early voting will take place between Sept. 3 and 9, except for Sunday, Sept. 5. The primary election is Sept. 14.

Early voting also will be conducted before the Nov. 2 general election — from Oct. 22 to 28, except for Sunday, Oct. 24.

Maryland voters approved early voting by constitutional amendment in the 2008 election. An earlier attempt to implement early voting was struck down by a court decision in 2006, when a judge ruled the state constitution did not allow it.

Support for early voting was split largely along party lines, with Republican leaders opposed because of concerns about voter fraud. Democrats largely supported the early-voting option, hoping it would draw more voters to the polls in the heavily Democratic state.

For years, Marylanders have been able to vote early by absentee ballot. But those who vote early this year will be able to visit a polling place and use the same touch-screen equipment employed on Election Day.

"That's the appeal," said Montgomery County Board of Elections spokeswoman Marjorie Roher. "They are able to use voting equipment. With absentee, it's a paper ballot. Voting absentee you can do from your couch."

Thirty-two states nationwide offer some type of early voting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Most election officials say they have no idea how many voters will turn out for early voting.

"It could be thousands; it could be hundreds; it could be no one," said Gail Carter, Carroll County's election director. "We don't know how receptive the public is going to be for it, so it's going to be a learning experience for the whole state."

Roher said she expects voter turnout overall will not increase, but people who typically vote on the day of the election will show up for early voting, effectively shortening lines on Sept. 14 and Nov. 2.

In other states that have adopted early voting, overall voter turnout has not been affected, said Guy Mickley, Howard County's deputy election director.

"I don't think early voting is going to have any impact on anything," he said.

One thing it has affected is the amount of money spent on elections statewide. While Ross Goldstein, deputy administrator of the state Board of Elections, said he was unsure how much would be spent, he added the major expenses will be paying election judges and renting facilities — costs incurred almost entirely by the local boards.

In Baltimore City, election officials have budgeted $1 million for early voting in the primary and general elections, with about $200,000 of that being spent on election judges.

The city will have about 15 judges at each of its five early-voting sites. They are paid between $150 and $200 per day.

Statewide, there are 46 early-voting locations, with the number depending on the district's population. Baltimore city and Baltimore, Anne Arundel, Prince George's and Montgomery counties each have five sites. Howard County has three early-voting sites, and all other jurisdictions have one.

Montgomery County is primarily using county facilities for early voting, and expects to spend about $244,500 — almost entirely on election judges, Roher said.

The county's budget for early voting and election days in the primary and general election is $1 million, she said.

Like many counties with a dominant party, Montgomery County struggles to find election judges from the minority party.

"We have more than enough Democrats," Roher said. "It's a little more difficult to find Republicans."

She said the county tries to staff each polling place with between six and 10 election judges, depending on how many voters use each site. Typically, the ratio of Democrats to Republicans is split as evenly as possible.

However, if there are not enough Republican judges for an even split, members of minority parties or unaffiliated voters can replace them.

ecunningham@gazette.net