Voter Vignette: John and Gloria Strasbaugh

In 1968, Gloria Strasbaugh was excited about voting in her first-ever election.

But being dependent upon public transportation nixed the first chance she had to cast her vote and she's been making up for it ever since.

"I was on a Baltimore transit bus," she recalled Tuesday. "I missed my connector bus, and by the time I got home to Sparrows Point from work, the polls had closed and I couldn't vote.

"But I haven't missed an election since, or at least not one that I was eligible to vote in."

Gloria and John, her husband of 44 years, are registered as unaffiliated with any party and aren't able to vote in primary elections.

The Lodge Forest residents have voted together in every election possible since 1968, and Tuesday was no exception when they cast their ballots at Chesapeake Terrace Elementary School.

While the race for president is always a reason to vote, John Strasbaugh said he was also especially interested in voting on Question 7, regarding expanded commercial gambling in Maryland.

"There's too much gambling in Maryland as it is," he said, leaving little doubt as to where he stands on the issue.

"People died to give us the right to vote," Gloria Strasbaugh said. "I'm not excited about either candidate for president, but it is our civic duty to vote.

"And I was glad to see lines; I'm glad to see a good turnout."