Anne Arundel County Election Results 2016: Clinton, Szeliga Win Locally

UPDATED at 12:20 am Wednesday ANNAPOLIS, MD — Voters across Anne Arundel County narrowly supported Democrat Hillary Clinton in the presidential race against Republican businessman Donald Trump. According to state returns, the Clinton/Tim Kaine ticket received 116,074 votes in the county, with Trump/Mike Pence close behind at 114,509 votes.

Statewide, the former secretary of state garnered 1,037,334 votes for 62.8 percent of the votes compared with 530,575 ballots, or 32.1 percent for Trump.

Anne Arundel County also voted on six charter amendments tied to economic development and budgets. Five of the amendments were approved, although voters rejected Question C, which would have permitted the County Council to increase the minimum value of purchases and contracts requiring competitive bidding from $25,000 to an amount up to $75,000.

Voters in Maryland have chosen Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Kensington, to replace five-term U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, defeating Republican House Minority Whip Delegate Kathy Szeliga in unofficial returns.
According to the State Board of Elections website, Van Hollen received 1,251,296 votes, for 62.2 percent, compared with 694,635 votes for Szeliga, or 34.5 percent.

But Szeliga won Anne Arundel County, garnering 119,760 votes to 116,422 for Van Hollen.

Towson University political science professor Antonio Campbell predicted Monday that Trump would win the presidency. And that seemed more and more likely when he talked to Patch late Tuesday night.

“Once again it’s the economy,” Campbell said. “People are just dissatisfied across the country.”

Campbell said Clinton never connected with core groups that have traditionally voted for Democratic candidates, including blue-collar and union workers. On top of that, young people who voted for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders stayed home in the general election, Campbell says, while women were confused on how Clinton could champion women’s rights when she attacked all of the women who accused her husband of sexual misconduct.

Meanwhile Maryland elections administrator Linda Lamone says overall voter turnout in the state has been "extraordinary," and could surpass the 81 percent record level set in the 1992 presidential election. Lamone said Tuesday that the board of elections is projecting turnout to be 80 percent or higher, reports FOX DC.

Anne Arundel County voters will decide six charter amendments that include whether to allow more expensive goods and services to bypass the procurement process and whether to require the county executive to hold two public meetings before introducing a budget.

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»Check back here later for local and national election results as they come in.

Attorney General Brian Frosh told a reporter at his polling place in Bethesda that there have been no problems reported so far, even where there are lines. "It's smoother. There are a lot of people voting and it's slow, so there are waits at a number of different precincts and that's upset some folks, but overall that's a good thing for democracy."

He said early voting has helped take the burden off polling sites on Election Day, both in Maryland and across the country.

Reports at precincts across the state of long lines where there is only one scanner included this Anne Arundel County voter.

»SEE ALSO:

• Election Day Perks in Maryland: Free Zipcars, $1 Beer, Complimentary Coffee
• How to Get Notified Instantly From Patch With Presidential Election Results
• How to Report Election Fraud, Voter Rights Abuses in Maryland
• Maryland Senate Race: Democrat Chris Van Hollen vs. Del. Kathy Szeliga

Voters took to social media Tuesday to encourage others to vote. Here's a sampling:

And some voters took selfies sanctioned by the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections; the photos were snapped outside the voting booth to comply with state law.

Other voters raised questions at their polling place, like this Crofton resident.

All voters will weigh in on an amendment to the state constitution that changes the way the governor fills a vacancy of the attorney general or the comptroller and requires a special election for vacancies that occur on or before a certain date. Under current law, the governor fills a vacancy by appointing someone to serve for the remainder of the term. Under the amended law, if the vacating attorney general or comptroller was a member of a political party, the governor must fill the vacancy from a list of three names provided by the political party of the vacating official.

SEE ALSO: Can I Take a Selfie With My Maryland Ballot?

Local ballots: There are myriad local ballots that vary by city and county. Find all of those on the State Board of Elections website.

Here are the Anne Arundel charter amendments:

QUESTION A

Charter Amendment
Compilation of Laws

To amend the Anne Arundel County Charter to remove the requirement of recodifying the Anne Arundel County Code at least every ten years.

For the Charter Amendment
Against the Charter Amendment

QUESTION B

Charter Amendment
Effective Date of Ordinances - Appropriations

To amend the Anne Arundel County Charter to provide that ordinances related to transfers of appropriations under Charter Section 711, supplementary appropriations under Charter Section 712, and amendments of the capital budget under Charter Section 716 shall take effect when they become law.

For the Charter Amendment
Against the Charter Amendment

QUESTION C

Charter Amendment
Purchasing Contract Limits

To amend the County Charter to permit the County Council to increase the minimum value of purchases and contracts requiring competitive bidding from $25,000 to an amount up to $75,000.

For the Charter Amendment
Against the Charter Amendment

QUESTION D

Charter Amendment
Budgetary and Fiscal Procedures - Pre-submission Public Meetings

To amend the Anne Arundel County Charter to require the County Executive to hold two public meetings on the proposed County budget no later than 30 days before the start of the annual legislative session of the County Council, before submission to the County Council.

For the Charter Amendment
Against the Charter Amendment

QUESTION E

Charter Amendment
The County Executive - Powers and Duties of Office - Director of Programming

To amend the Anne Arundel County Charter to change the title of Director of Programming to Economic Development Officer in Section 405 of the Charter.

For the Charter Amendment
Against the Charter Amendment

QUESTION F

Charter Amendment
Interim Notes

To amend the Anne Arundel County Charter to allow the County Council to pass ordinances authorizing the issuance of interim notes to temporarily fund appropriations for capital projects.

For the Charter Amendment
Against the Charter Amendment

2016 General Precincts and Polling Places

• Precinct count by County (PDF)
• Precinct count by Congressional District (PDF)
• Precincts and Polling Places (PDF)
• Precincts and Polling Places (Excel)

For more information, visit the Maryland State Board of Elections website.

Residents will use a new, paper-based, digital image scan voting system; voters will now mark their selections with a pen on paper ballots prior to inserting them in the scanner for tabulation.