Low Turnout was Talking Point at Local Precincts

They waited. And they would keep waiting.

Signs in hand, they sat on curbs, leaned on posts, or perched in folding chairs for the entire voting process. The clear September weather was the most optimistic conversation topic for the primary candidate representatives, who got the turnout they expected Tuesday.

The unofficial results showed that only 38,417 of the potential 135,146 ballots—28.43 percent—were tallied in Harford County. The local races drew more voters—there were 868 more republicans to vote for county executive than for governor.

Roughly 37 percent of registered Republicans and 23 percent of registered Democrats turned out Tuesday.

By comparison, the 2008 Presidential primary drew 51,427 voters, roughly 43 percent of the 118,916 registered voters in the county at that time. The 2006 Gubernatorial primary drew 38,808 voters—33 percent of the 116,980 registered residents that  year.

All told, there were nearly 97,000 registered voters in Harford County who abstained Tuesday. They simply did not show up to cast their vote.

"Even though people are saying 'Well, the total numbers [were] relatively small, it is a freedom that we have and we must never take that freedom for granted,'" said James "Capt'n Jim" McMahan, who claimed victory after defeating Commissioner Terrance Hanley for a County Council seat.

But because so many candidates were running unopposed, even the voters that turned out to exercise their right admitted they had little choice in which candidates to select on their ballots. To some, though, that did not make a difference.

"I think it's important to come out and vote regardless of whether they're unopposed candidates running or whether they're both Democrats and Republicans," said Eric White, a 47-year-old from Bel Air.

Precincts across the county saw low turnouts, particularly those in the more heavily populated parts of the County Seat.

At Forest Lake Elementary, roughly 27 percent—692 of the possible 2,543 Democrats and Republicans—of registered residents had cast their ballots by 7 p.m.

Over at Bel Air High School, just 280 of the possible 1,462 voters—slightly more than 19 percent—had appeared by 7 p.m.

Things were moving very slowly at Ring Factory Elementary, with an unscientific count of 260 people from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and only 60 more during the normal rush between 4 and 6:30 p.m.

One representative at Patterson Mill Middle/High School said traffic began to pick up at 4 p.m., and cars were streaming into the parking lot by 4:30 p.m.

Some voters said they simply picked the candidates they had seen the most, or the ones who had the most signs along the roadside.

To some Harford Countians, that's the only information they had on their candidates.

"I was disappointed in the lack of information about the candidates," said Bel Air resident J. Carter after casting his vote at Bel Air High School. "Somebody should be stepping up."

Bel Air resident Linda Alderson, 69, spoke for many voters, suggesting the campaigning itself can be overwhelming.

"There's a lot of stuff I don't like," Alderson. "A lot of negativity."