Gubernatorial candidates Wes Moore and Dan Cox compete for last-minute votes
BALTIMORE -- In the 24 hours leading up to Election Day, Maryland's gubernatorial candidates tried to convince Marylanders who have not already cast a ballot, to vote for them.
Also, for the second time in a matter of weeks, President Joe Biden visited Maryland to rally on behalf of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore. His election eve rally at Bowie State University served as a final galvanizing call from the leader of the democratic party to voters who may be apathetic.
Moore made an early afternoon stop at the Pascal Senior Center in Glen Burnie ahead of the rally with Biden.
Moore said with Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman by his side that he was taking nothing for granted. A recent Baltimore Sun / University of Baltimore poll said Moore has a 30-point lead over Republican opponent Del. Dan Cox.
"The only poll that matters is going to be the poll on Election Day," Moore said. "No one can take this election for granted. I want people to come out. Make your voice heard because we are going to run this race like we are 10 points behind because that's what this moment requires and deserves."
Data from the State Board of Elections (SBE) shows that roughly 392,000 of Maryland's more than 4 million eligible active voters cast their votes early. That figure is less than 10%.
The SBE said another 379,000 people mailed in their ballots.
Election day voter turn-out is traditionally higher than both early voting and mail-in options, so both candidates are aware that millions of votes could potentially be cast Tuesday. That's why Moore and Cox courted votes in the hours leading up to Election Day.
On Monday, Cox greeted lunch-goers at a deli in Baltimore and asked them for their vote.
Cox, a freshman state delegate who has received the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, reminded voters that polls have been wrong in the past.
Cox also told voters in Baltimore that he's focusing on issues like crime.
"We just toured Fells Point and I can tell you Baltimore is hurting," Cox said. "Every business owner I've talked to said that the crime issue is their top concern. How can they do business and how can they serve the people in the community if they don't have safety? That's why that's a pinnacle of my campaign, the focus of my campaign—to bring back safety to Baltimore City."