Ballot Question 1, the referendum approving early voting, passed with 71 percent of the vote, according to The Baltimore Sun.

The debate surrounding Question 1 fell along partisan lines, with Republicans opposing it and Democrats supporting it.

"We live in a different time now when people have far more complex lives," Michael Cryor, chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, told PolitickerMD.com following the referendum's passage. "Just makes good sense."

Republicans argued early voting would be a waste of money, prone to fraud and was unnecessary since the state already has absentee ballots.

Past electoral performance suggests Democrats fare better with early voting and Republicans with absentee ballots.

"It only matters if we maintain our significant voter majority," Cryor said, but added that wasn't a function of the process.

Justin Ready, the Maryland Republican Party's executive director, said his party would be working aggressively within the General Assembly to ensure fair placement of the early voting sites.

"We need to have a plan to use the early voting law to our advantage by getting more Republicans and Republican-friendly voters to the polls early who might otherwise not vote," Ready wrote in an email to PolitickerMD.com.