By Douglas Ditto
REISTERSTOWN, (M.D.), Nov. 5, 2024 — When Joanne Ditto, 81, got out of church last Sunday, she walked towards her car to meet a group of friends for lunch before the Ravens game. It’s a routine that she’s done for almost 60 years since moving to Reisterstown, MD, from Patterson Park in Baltimore City.
Ditto was gearing up for a spirited lunch discussion about the upcoming presidential election when suddenly she twisted her ankle and came crashing down onto the parking lot. She sustained two broken ribs, a broken wrist, a broken finger and facial cuts.
Candidate signs lined the parking lot outside Cedarmere Elementary School on November 5, 2024.
Despite serious pain and swelling, on Tuesday morning, Election Day, Ditto walked out of the same house she’s lived in for almost sixty years with only one thing on her mind: exercising her right to vote. Against the wishes of her family, she made her way to Cedarmere Elementary School to vote in a presidential election for the fifteenth time in her life.
“My sons tried to tell me that this isn’t worth my time this year in a blue-state like Maryland, but this is too important to me,” said Ditto. “You must vote! No excuses.”
Her sentiment echoed with others in northwest Baltimore County today.
Chanel Johnson, 28, a Black woman is also a lifelong Reisterstown resident. Tuesday marked just her second-time voting for a president. Like Ditto, she too will not forget this Election Day any time soon. On Tuesday, Johnson brought her infant daughter with her to the polling place so that she could see how voting happens.
“It is a special day for me to be able to bring my daughter with me and tell her I’m voting for two women that look like her,” said Johnson.
While many citizens voiced their support for individual candidates, other voters were more concerned about the actual ballot measures themselves. In Maryland, Question 1 proposes amending Maryland’s State Constitution to protect women’s right to reproductive freedom.
A recent survey suggested 69 percent of Maryland voters planned to vote in support of Question 1. Kathy Morton, 43, said that despite the numbers she still feels compelled to make other voters aware of the measure even on Election Day.
“I felt like I needed to come out here today and use my voice for those who don’t have one yet,” Morton said. “I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I didn’t try to stop it [Question 1] from passing.”
Morton stood in the parking lot of Cedarmere on Tuesday, urging voters to think again about Question 1 before they went into the polling booth. While it may not yield the result they’re hoping for, all three women were able to leave Cedarmere on Tuesday with a sense of pride, having played their role in the democratic process.