For many, heading to the polls on election day means a visit to a school, community center, or library. But this election day some people in the Chesapeake Bay watershed will head to much more surprising, interesting, or fun locations to cast their vote.
Here are 11 of the most interesting, fun, or unexpected polling places we’ve come across in the watershed. Whether voting for you means a walk down a city sidewalk or crossing an island in the middle of the Bay, don’t forget to head to the polls on November 5! And please keep the Bay in mind when you do.
District of Columbia
Eastern Market in the heart of Capitol Hill is just a stroll down the street from most Congressional offices. For locals, this big, beautiful brick building is the spot for farm fresh produce, meat and poultry, flowers, arts and crafts—and voting.
Boats docked along Hooper's Island, Maryland.
Kimberley Kelly
Maryland
Oregon Ridge Nature Center gives Baltimore County residents the chance to take a pre-vote hike. This polling place lies within the 1,100-acre Oregon Ridge Park. Surrounded by trails, creek access, abundant forests, and a community garden, voters can take in Maryland’s natural beauty before voting for its future protection.
Hoopers Island Volunteer Fire Company is a polling place with a view. You can’t get any more Chesapeake than this precinct, surrounded by water in Dorchester County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. When it’s not hosting voters, the Hoopers Island Fire Company holds an annual Watermen’s Rodeo.
Baltimore War Memorial in downtown Baltimore honors and serves all Maryland veterans. Filled with art, history, and beautiful architecture, this place will have voters feeling extra proud of our nation’s freedom before filling out their ballot.
CBF staff Brian Gish and Gaitlin Glagola visit Shady Maple's Smorgasbord in East Earl, Pennsylvania.
CBF Staff
Pennsylvania
Shady Maple’s Smorgasbord in Lancaster County is not just a polling station, but also has the largest smorgasbord in the country, including “200 feet of deliciously authentic Pennsylvania Dutch cooking.” Go to cast your ballot, but stay for the shoo-fly pie!
Columbia Animal Shelter in this picturesque town along the Susquehanna River is a place where you can transform lives by adopting a pet—or voting for a better future.
Sunset falls over the James River at Mariners' Museum and Park in Newport News, Virginia.
Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program
Virginia
Tangier Combined School serves this famed island in the middle of the Bay, accessible only by boat. Tangier Islanders head to the island’s schoolhouse to cast their ballots—and also harvest some of the Bay’s most delicious crabs and oysters.
The Mariner’s Museum and Park in Newport News calls itself a place where visitors connect to the world’s waters—and each other. On election day, that means connecting through voting, as well as exploring the history of the many vessels that have plied the Bay’s waters. Cool down after the election with a hike in the park along Mariners’ Lake and the James River.
West Virginia
Big Bucks Live Bingo in Martinsburg is the region’s largest bingo and banquet hall. National elections may only be every other year, but Super Bingo is the first Saturday of every month. While there’s no chicken in every pot, every bingo packet comes with a free dinner.
Black Draft Distillery is not only known for whiskey tasting, but also is where some Berkeley County residents cast their votes. Wash down the election with First Harvest Moonshine, an unaged, non-GMO corn whiskey made “in the heart of bootlegging country.”
Cacapon Resort State Park Bathhouse in Berkeley Springs was built during the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Today voters can drink in the scenic views of Cacapon Lake and the surrounding mountains.
Make sure to check out our resources for how you can vote for the Bay this election season!
