Rockville, Md. - 21-year-old Corey Hankins was first in line in the dark at the Wooten High School polling place in Rockville nearly two hours before polls opened. "It's history and I had to be a part of it," he told ABC 7 / NewsChannel 8 reporter Matt Brock. Voters were lined up by 5:30 a.m. outside polling places in Maryland, well ahead of the 7:00 poll opening.

Maryland voters will take up a number of questions on the ballot today, in addition to the historic presidential race. One key long-standing issue in the state is the question of whether to allow slot machines in the state, which will finally be on the ballot for Maryland voters to decide today.

Another issue facing the state's voters is a proposed constitutional amendment to introduce early voting in Maryland. Critics of the proposal say it would open the door for corruption. D.C. and Virginia both allow it, along with dozens of other states. Supporters of the proposal hope it would curb the massive lines that voters are waiting in this morning. 

Maryland voter Charlie Schueller noted, "This is at least four times longer than I've ever waited to vote."

The line stretches back and forth inside the polling place like the wait for an amusement park ride. The long wait proved too much for one elderly woman, who fainted in line at her polling place. She was revived and is expected to be fine.

Delays are the result not only of high turnout, but there some procedural inefficiencies. At Wootton, an election official told Matt Brock that there's a bottleneck where voters sign in, where official do not have enough of the electronic noteboooks needed and that voting machines sit available and unused as a result.

Yet voter Robin Avant-Johnson insists, "It wasn't bad. It was worth it; I was prepared to wait longer."

Maryland voters will be casting ballots on several issues beyond presidential politics today.

Voters got to the Maryland polls early on election day, knowing to expect long lines. Turnout is expected to be huge, based on registration numbers.

Election officials advise voters to read the ballot before coming to the polls, as that will speed up the process for everyone. They also suggest that voters try to come between 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., when crowds are expected to be at their lowest numbers.

We'd like to hear about your voting experience. Click here  to head to the ABC 7 talkback page and tell us what your experience was like today. We'll read your comments on ABC 7 at 5pm.