Breakfast links: Voters endured long lines, and longer waits, during primary elections in DC and Maryland
Long lines formed outside polling places in DC and Maryland by Alex Baca.
Voting in both DC and Maryland was crowded and slow
Despite big pushes to vote by mail in both jurisdictions, voting lines in DC and Maryland were still long and slow. Some voters stated they never received the absentee ballots they applied for, meaning they had to vote in person. With fewer voting centers open because of the pandemic, hours-long lines built up over time. In DC, many voters didn’t cast their ballot until well after the District’s 7 pm curfew. (DCist, Bennett Leckrone / Maryland Matters)
Preliminary DC results show only some clear winners
Janeese Lewis George has a strong lead over incumbent Brandon Todd in Ward 4 in early returns, while Brooke Pinto narrowly leads Patrick Kennedy in Ward 2. Trayon White in Ward 8 and Vincent Gray in Ward 7 are out far ahead of all other challengers. Many absentee and provisional ballots remain to be counted. Jack Evans is currently in 7th place. (DCBOE)
Maryland primaries may return Dixon to office
Former Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon has the lead so far for the mayor’s race; Lynne Harris and Sunil Dasgupta are ahead in Montgomery County’s closely-watched school board contest. (Baltimore Sun, Bethesda Beat)
A pre-covid report highlights racial health inequality
A Georgetown report that was compiled before the coronavirus pandemic found that longstanding racial inequality leads to worse health outcomes and a shorter life expectancy in Black communities in DC (Justin Moyer / Post)
Virginia (but not Northern Virginia) can continue reopening Friday
Governor Ralph Northam announced that most of the state will proceed to Phase Two of reopening, which means gyms and entertainment venues can also open with limited capacity, but Northern Virginia, where COVID-19 rates are highest, will stay in Phase One for now. (WAMU)
Alexandria’s Confederate statue comes down
The Appomattox statue at Prince and Washington Street was taken down yesterday by the United Daughters of Confederacy, as protests in Virginia have begun targeting Confederate symbols. Virginia just passed a law permitting local jurisdictions to remove their Confederate monuments in April, but it does not go into effect until later this summer. (Vernon Miles / ALX Now)
Arlington to step up testing for public workers
Arlington County will begin regularly testing public safety workers like police, firefighters, emergency communications workers and some critical county employees for COVID-19 after buying a rapid testing machine. (ARL Now)
DC ranked poorly in a children’s rights report
A Save the Children report put DC in the bottom 20% of US counties (or equivalents) when it came to overall child welfare and sucess metrics, citing the city’s low on-time graduation rates, and high food insecurity, the latter of which is compounded by the pandemic and DC’s high childcare costs for familes. (Rachel Cohen / City Paper)
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