A victim of its own success in the 2012 General Election, early voting attracted throngs of voters in Maryland.

In Baltimore, they waited hours in some cases for the chance to cast their votes during six early voting days designated before Election Day. Many voters complained at the time that there were no locations convenient to downtown.

Starting with the upcoming June primary, a new early voting location has been added at the University of Maryland Baltimore.

“Cool, westside downtown got an early voting location!” Kevin Cross tweeted today. “It’s a hike for me, but I’ll take it.”

Cross said the UMB location is more convenient to his workplace than his home. Last time around, he recalled, he walked to a polling place near Old Town Mall on the Eastside.

According to the city Elections Board, one feature of the new site at 621 W. Lombard Street is free parking at the Pratt Street Garage, 646 W. Pratt Street.

Cross said he has been suggesting to his councilman, William H. Cole IV, that early voting sites be added with pedestrians and transit users in mind.

“The Charles Center subway old MVA location would be ideal,” he told The Brew today.

View Early Voting Locations in a larger map

The early voting centers will be open from June 12 to June 19, ahead of the June 24 Primary Election. Hours of operation – 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The expansion of early voting from six to eight days came as a result of legislation approved in Annapolis last year.

“Great Idea,” Mayor Says

Asked about the new early voting site, Baltimore Elections Director Armstead B.C. Jones, Sr. told The Brew that it was not a requirement of the new state law.

“That was an optional thing,” he said. “To cover myself, I sent a letter to the mayor, and she thought it was a great idea.”

Jones also said he didn’t think the long lines in 2012 were caused by deficiencies in the number or location of the early voting sites.

It had to do with “unprepared voters” taking a long time to make their selections, Jones said, pointing to a report by the Schaefer Center for Public Policy.

Mondawmin Site Nixed

Jones also said he has been “under pressure” to come up with an early voting site at Mondawmin Mall in Northwest Baltimore. But he said he felt it was too close to the Edmondson Westside High School location.

The downtown site that UMB offered the advantage of being “lower down” in the city. Its only drawback, he said, is parking.

“I was only able to secure 40 spaces. I’d still like to find more,” he said. “We’re trying to encourage people downtown and on the other side of Martin Luther [King Jr. Boulevard] to just walk. It would be a lovely walk.”
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Here are the Locations for Early Voting in June

• Edmondson Westside HS 400, 501 Athol Ave. (enter at rear of building)
• The League for People with Disabilities, 1111 E. Coldspring Lane
• Maritime Industries Academy School #431, 5001 Sinclair Lane (enter on Truesdale Ave.)
• Public Safety Training Center, 3500 W. Northern Pkwy (enter on Manhattan Ave.)
• St. Brigids Parish Center, 900 S. East Ave.
• University of Maryland at Baltimore, 621 W. Lombard Street, 2nd Floor