For MoCo Dems, 'Mixed Feelings' On Slots

Longtime Democrat Pat Ryan, 53, has known for months which candidates she would vote for, but she had a hard time deciding how to vote on Maryland's slot-machine gambling referendum.

Even as she stepped into the booth at Seneca Valley High School in Germantown, she said she was weighing the pros and cons of adding slot machines to state race tracks and other venues.

"On one hand, the people who gamble can't afford to do so. But some people say they are going to spend that money anyway, it might as well stay in the state," Ryan said.

"I went back and forth," Ryan continued. "I finally just voted for it. Now I just want to make sure the money from does does get to the schools."

The only race on today's ballot that Anas Paiz, 47, cared about was the presidential race, and she voted for Sen. Barack Obama. Her 20-year-old daughter, Evelin Serpas, went with her mother to the polls in Germantown, and voted for the first time.

Although long lines were reported elsewhere across the region, the two women said it took just minutes for them to cast their ballots, and they didn't have to wait in line at all.

"It's a big election and we wanted to make sure we voted," said Serpas. "We've had Obama in mind for quite some time."

-- Jenna Johnson