By Halle Wilson
Every vote counts and that does not mean only in the presidential election. This year Maryland residents will vote for candidates at the city, county, and state levels.
Frederick County early voting is Oct.27 – Nov.3 when you can go to the polls and vote for the candidate of your choice. This election is a Frederick county-based election which comes with the fact that certain voting districts can be able to vote in this election.
Some important dates to remember: November 1, which is the deadline to request mail-in-ballots by mail or fax, November 4, the deadline to request mail-in-ballots electronically, November 8, the Gubernatorial General Election, 7 am – 8 pm, and November 18, the Certification of 2022 Gubernatorial General Election.
These dates are subject to Legislative change; however, as of now, those dates are official.
The candidates in Frederick County are Michael Hough, a Republican running as county executive, and Jessica Fitzwater for the same position.
In addition, for the position of state attorney is Charlie Smith, a Republican.
For the Sheriff position, the candidates are Chuck Jenkins, a Republican, and Karl Bickel, a Democrat.
The Board of Education candidates that are running in Frederick County are Nancy A. Allen, who is a Non-Parastian, as well as her fellow candidates Olivia Angolia, Ysela Bravo, Rae Gallangher, Cindy Rose, Dean Rose, Karen Yoho, and Liz Barrett.
The candidates running for state governor in Maryland are Dan Cox, Gordana Schifanelli, Robin Ficker, Leroy F. Yeggue, Kelly Schulz, Jeff Woolfard, Joe Werner, and Minh Thanh Luong, all of which are Republican.
For the Democratic candidates running for state governor, we have Rushern L.Baker III, Nancy Navarro, Jon Baron, Natlie Willams, Peter Franchot, Monique Anderson Walker, Douglas F. Gansler, Candance Hollyingsworth, Ralph W. Jaffe, Mark Greben, Ashwani Jain, LaTreece Hawkins Lytes, John King, Michelle Daugherty Siri, Wes Moore, Aruna Miller, Tom Perez, Shannon Sneed, Jerome M. Segal, and Justinian M. Dispenza.
Running for state governor for the Libertarian party are David Lashar and Christina Logansmith. Running for the Green Party are Nancy Wallace and Patrick Elder. David Harding and Cathy White, the final candidates, are both Working Class Party.
Why it is important to vote in this county election? Jackson Stiller, a 25-year-old Business major, explains, “I personally love the idea of making my voice heard; making sure I am doing the most research as possible to vote for the right candidate means the most to me during this time because the candidates that we put into office are the ones who either raise my tuition or don’t. If I can let my voice be heard in this election to make a difference for not just me, but other students as well then that means a lot to me,” Stiller explains.
Zach Winston of New Market, an Agriculture major in his sophomore year said, “The reason it is important to vote is to let your voice be heard. We need to make sure every person is educated on the candidates before going to vote. I think that we as young people just think it’s a joke,” Winston said. “And when we go to the voting polls, we just go by what our parents put on their ballots. We want to put in the work and prove that we know what the candidate stands for. I am a different political party than my parents, but that should not determine how I feel about voting for someone who has better values or morals than the other person. I choose to vote and decide for myself, not anyone else but me,” Winston says.
Martin Vincent, an 18-year-old from Adamstown, said he did not vote for a long time because he believed his voice did not matter. “Since then, I have watched the news more; I have seen what has been going on in this country and where we are headed. I hope that it goes up from here, but I am going to vote in this county election just to make sure we are putting the right people in the office who want to see a change in our communities.”
“To be able to make it safer for everyone to live and survive here on Earth, that is why I am voting in this upcoming election,” he said.
More information about voting can be found at:
https://www.elections.maryland.gov/
https://www.frederickcountymd.gov/1198/Board-of-Elections
https://frederickcountymd.gov/8181/2022-Gubernatorial-Elections
