MARYLAND, USA — Early voting started in Maryland Monday with hours-long lines at some locations.
So how can you find out how long the lines are at your early voting location before you get there? The MoCo Voter App, which is available on both Apple and Android, will help you navigate choices and even decide where to vote.
Here's how it works: Once you download the app, you type in your zip code and it populates the closest early voting centers, driving directions to the center and wait times, which are updated every 30 minutes.
So how are they calculating that wait time?
"We have a wait card and we go out and give it to a voter," Dr. Gilberto Zelaya, spokesperson for the Montgomery County Board of Elections, said.
The card indicates the time the card was handed to the voter and the number of people in-line at the time.
"Once [the voter with the card] shows up at the check-in table then that’s how we get the estimate," he said.
Early voting begins in Maryland
According to the Maryland Board of Elections, there are approximately 683,000 active registered voters in Montgomery County and about 74,000 eligible voters have yet to register.
If that is you, Zelaya said you can still register to vote in this election.
"If you missed, for whatever reason, the Maryland voter registration deadline of Oct.13, you can leverage the same-day voter registration," he said.
To register to vote on-site you'll need: a Maryland driver's license, permit or ID.
If you don't have one of those three forms of state ID, you can bring a bank statement, utility bill or another government document with your name and current Montgomery county or corresponding county address.
"Your vote is just as important as mine, and we're here to serve," Zelaya said.