Election Day 2022: Voters in DC, Md., Va. head to the polls

After months of primary and general election campaigning, voters in D.C., Maryland and Virginia will have the last say on Tuesday as they cast ballots in federal, state and local elections.

The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the District and Maryland, and 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Virginia. In all three jurisdictions, if you’re in line by the time of the poll closing, you can still vote.

Thousands of voters in the area have already cast ballots through the mail or via drop boxes. If you already have a mail-in ballot filled out but you haven’t dropped it off, you can use the boxes at virtually all polling places. If you haven’t gotten your ballot yet, you’ll have to wait in line for a ballot and use a polling machine.

If you haven’t registered to vote yet, there’s same-day voter registration in Maryland. You can register to vote on Election Day by bringing a document showing proof of residency with you to vote. It’s the same deal in D.C.

Virginia, for the first time this year, has same-day voter registration, but you’ll need to use a provisional ballot.

“The provisional ballot does not go into the voting machine at that time, and it won’t be processed until after the election,” Virginia Elections Commissioner Susan Beals told WTOP’s Nick Iannelli.

Below are some of the storyline races that will be decided Tuesday (although the vote-counting might last well beyond). You can find more details on where and how to vote, as well as the full list of candidates and questions, in WTOP’s voter guides.

Voter Guides:

DC

Voters in the District are picking a mayor, members of the D.C. Council and a new attorney general on Tuesday.

Mayor Muriel Bowser is facing challenges from Republican Stacia Hall, independent Rodney Grant and Libertarian Dennis Sobin. A victory for Bowser would make her D.C.’s first mayor since Marion Barry to be elected to three terms. The candidates spoke with WTOP about the issues.

The biggest question mark in the D.C. Council races hovers over the race for at-large seats, where three current council members are among the eight candidates running for two seats.

Incumbents Anita Bonds, a Democrat, and independent Elissa Silverman are running to retain their seats, while Kenyan McDuffie, currently the Democratic member from Ward 5, is running as an independent. McDuffie gave up his Ward 5 seat to run for attorney general, but was ruled unqualified for the ballot during the Democratic primary campaign.

Also on the ballot are independents Karim Marshall, Fred Hill and Graham McLaughlin, as well as Republican Giuseppe Niosi and David Schwartzman of the D.C. Statehood Green Party.

In Ward 3, Democrat Matthew Frumin, Republican David Krucoff and Libertarian Adrian Salsgiver are running to succeed Mary Cheh, who ended her campaign for a fifth term during the primary, citing a “reevaluation” of her life after holding the seat for 16 years.

The Ward 3 candidates spoke with WTOP on the issues.

In Ward 5, Democrat Zachary Parker and Republican Clarence Lee are running to succeed Kenyan McDuffie.

Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has been D.C.’s non-voting delegate in the U.S. House since 1991, is running for reelection against Natale Stracuzzi, of the D.C. Statehood Green Party; Libertarian Bruce Majors and Republican Nelson Rimensnyder.

D.C. voters will also decide the fate of Initiative 82, which would raise the minimum wage for tipped workers such as restaurant servers and bartenders until it’s at the regular minimum wage in 2027. Voters passed a similar initiative in 2018, but the D.C. Council overturned it.

WTOP spoke with the creator of the initiative and a restaurateur who opposes it.

Maryland

A proverbial boatload of elections will be decided in Maryland on Tuesday, and some could go on quite a while after that. Voters are deciding all 188 seats in the legislature, along with races for all three statewide offices, all eight U.S. House seats and plenty of local and county races.

When will we know the winners? That’s complicated: While the State Board of Elections won a court case giving county boards permission to tabulate mail-in ballots before Election Day, not every county is doing so.

Eleven of 24 jurisdictions, including most of those in the D.C. area, have already tabulated at least some ballots ahead of time, but mail-in ballots returned later in the process or on Election Day, won’t be counted until after, so it could play a role in some close races.

All three statewide offices will be occupied by first-timers:

• The governor’s race is between Democratic political newcomer Wes Moore, who is looking to become the state’s first Black governor, and Republican Dan Cox, a freshman Republican delegate from Frederick County. Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is barred by term limits from running again. WTOP spoke with the candidates on the issues.
• Rep. Anthony Brown, a former lieutenant governor, and Republican Michael Peroutka, a former Anne Arundel County Council member, are running to succeed Attorney General Brian Frosh, who is stepping down after two terms.
• And the contest for comptroller, who oversees tax collection in the state, comes down to Democrat Brooke Lierman, a civil and disability attorney and a two-term state delegate, and Republican Harford County Executive Barry Glassman, both running to succeed Peter Franchot, who is stepping down after 15 years.

The most competitive U.S. House race in Maryland comes in the 6th District, which includes Frederick County and a portion of Montgomery County, where Rep. David Trone, an incumbent Democrat, faces Republican Del. Neil Parrott. Trone beat Parrott by 20 percentage points in 2020, but the map of the district has been redrawn, making it more competitive for Republicans.

The two candidates spoke with WTOP about the issues.

Marylanders are also voting on ballot questions, including one that would legalize marijuana for personal use.

Anne Arundel, Frederick, Howard and Montgomery counties will pick county executives, and in Montgomery County, the entire county council — which has expanded by two seats — is on the ballot.

Virginia

The elections for the U.S. House in Virginia include a couple of the most closely watched contests in the country.

In the 2nd District, Rep. Elaine Luria, the Democratic incumbent, is in what appears to be a dead heat with Republican challenger Jen Kiggans, a state senator. Luria, a member of the Jan. 6 committee, is seeking her third term in a district that has been redrawn to make it slightly less favorable to Democrats.

Other high-profile races in the D.C. area include the 7th District race between Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat seeking her third term, and Republican challenger Yesli Vega, a Prince William County supervisor.

WTOP spoke with Spanberger; Vega’s campaign didn’t respond to multiple requests for an interview.

Observers have said these races could go a long way in determining how the House will balance out after the election is over.

WTOP’s Nick Iannelli, Mitchell Miller, Jack Moore and Alejandro Alvarez contributed to this report.