Howard County Executive Calvin Ball, center, gives remarks at a Win With Black Men rally in Annapolis on Monday, the eve of Election Day, as candidates and advocates scrambled to make their final pitches. Photo by William J. Ford.
At a mini-rally outside the State House Monday, a group of elected officials and community leaders had a message for fellow Black men: It’s not too late to make their voices heard.
The event by the group Win With Black Men tried to rally support among Black male voters for Black women candidates, specifically Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, and for Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, the Democrat running for U.S. Senate.
Howard County Executive Calvin Ball Jr. (D) had a message for Black men who remain undecided on a particular candidate, or are still unsure about whether or not they will vote Tuesday.
“If you care about the future of economic prosperity and mobility; if you care about building your next generation through home ownership; if you care about those who would invest in education … you have to support Kamala Harris for president. You have to support Angela Alsobrooks for Senate,” Ball said.
It was just one of the last-minute events by candidates from both parties, and on the local and federal levels, as months of campaigning came down to the last 24 hours.
For those who plan to vote Tuesday, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Unlike early voting, where election officials operated 97 voting centers for voters to cast ballots for a week, voters on Tuesday have to go to their assigned precincts, based on where they live. Voters can find their precinct by looking here.
Marylanders can also register to vote and cast a ballot on the same day. Would-be voters are asked to bring a document that proves residency such as a MVA-issued driver’s license, ID card, utility bill or other government document with their name and address.
Just under 1 million of the state’s 4.2 million registered voters cast ballots in person during early voting, which ran from Oct. 24 to Oct. 31. Another 877,196 voters requested mail-in ballots, more than 600,000 of which had been returned as of Sunday night, according to data from the Maryland State Board of Elections.
Voters who have not returned their mail-in ballots can do so by mail, as long as it is postmarked by Tuesday. Any properly postmarked mail ballot will be counted as long as it’s delivered to the local election board by 10 a.m. on Nov. 15. Mail-in ballots can also be dropped at various drop boxes and at local elections board offices throughout the state by 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Despite the large number of voters who have already cast ballots, Nikki Tyree, executive director of the League of Women Voters, is urging patience when it comes to getting election results. She said that just because it will take time to get results, voters should not suspect “mischievous actions” on the part of election officials.
“They can only count so fast. So give election results time,” said Tyree, adding that it could take even longer for “races that are really, really tight.”
“Candidates within a certain margin are entitled to a recount. They deserve to have that recount,” Tyree said. “If their races are that tight, you’ve got to give the precincts time before people start calling foul on an election result. That, I think, is probably going to be our biggest concern post-election.”
But before those ballots can be counted, they have to be cast, which is what the Win With Black Men event was about. The group is part of a national movement to not only uplift Black men, but also to encourage them to become more involved the political process. Kevin Ford Jr. serves as Maryland’s state director.
Gov. Wes Moore (D) pointed that Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Delaware), who’s favored in her race to become that state’s first Black woman ever elected to the Senate. If Alsobrooks wins her race for Senate against former Gov. Larry Hogan, the Republican nominee, it will mark the first time the Senate has had two Black women serving at the same time.
“It’s Black men who are going to help to make it happen,” said Moore, wearing a gray Win With Black Men hoodie for the event on Lawyers Mall. Some of the several dozen men at the event also held “Black Men Support Black Women” posters.
“There’s been a lot of conversation about what Black men are not doing and Black men not coming home, but we want to be very clear that the truth is we are right here,” Moore said. “We are standing with our sisters, and the reason is because we are standing for the future.”
– Reporter Bryan P. Sears contributed to this story.