DEAL ISLAND, Md. - Deal Island, Md. is a small, quiet community of just under 400 people nestled on the shores of Somerset County
Until recently, the community has its own polling place, the Deal Island School.
But a recent shortage of election judges in the county will have voters traveling more than 15 miles away to vote.
"Well I think it's awful for the older people because a lot of older people do live here," said Wanda Lewis Hall, of Deal Island. "Some of them need someone else to take them voting, and they would have no way to go all the way to Princess Anne.
The Somerset County Board of Elections was only able to recruit about half of the roughly 150 judges needed to fully staff the county's polling places for 2022.
This has caused the Board to consolidate several polling stations across the county, including Deal Island, where in-person voters will now vote at Princess Anne Elementary School.
Maryland offers mail-in voting, but for some folks on Deal Island, that is not an option.
"There are some older people is not going to want to do that." said Beatrice Hayes of Deal Island. "They get set in their ways and all that so maybe something can be worked out for them."
For some Deal Island neighbors, the additional travel time raises the specter of another sign of our times.
"Gas is so high that people can't afford to go off the island, not just to vote," Hill said.
For complete details on the deadlines for mail-in ballots, as well as the changes in voting locations in Somerset County, click here.