The roles they play: How election volunteers work to educate voters

WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. – About 100 feet away from each other, two political booths sent separate but strong messages to voters.

Political volunteers are often the last stop for voters before they hit the polls, and the ones tabling for the Republican Committee in Wicomico County are telling residents to vote against Question-A, which would get rid of the county executive position. Volunteer, Barry Beauchamp, believes having Question-A on the ballot is a distraction to voters.

“We would be promoting who we want as president, and that’s what’s so frustrating. That we’re actually having to apply effort towards saving a seat that we feel is very important for our county,” Beauchamp said.

Members from the Democratic Committee used their space on the Civic Center lawn to advocate for Senate candidate, Angela Alsobrooks.

But volunteer, Demetria Marshall Leonard, said whether someone votes for Larry Hogan or Alsobrooks, they just want to educate people during this pivotal election.

“Some people don’t have the knowledge or the education; they don’t know what to do and you have a lot of first-time voters that are coming out. For us, it doesn’t matter about their choice of candidate or their selection, as long as we’re helping them,” Marshall Leonard said.

Yes, sometimes things can get a little heated.

“We’re Democrats and they’re Republicans, that’s always going to be some tension,” Marshall Leonard said.

“From time-to-time, tensions get high, and people say things that maybe they shouldn’t,” Beauchamp added.

But that’s when Wicomico County Chief election judge, Eric Brewington, steps in.

“People have been enthusiastic one way or the other about their candidate. Thankfully, we haven’t had anything too serious occur– pretty much here, everyone, even though they may disagree, they understand that we’re on the same team here,” Brewington said.