CUMBERLAND — The primary election for city mayor, county commissioner, and sheriff will be held on Tuesday, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday or hand-delivered to an approved dropbox by 8 p.m. that day.

Registered voters affiliated with the Democratic and Republican parties are eligible to vote in the primary election. In-person early voting attendance was about average, according to Allegany County Board of Elections Administrator Wendy Maddux. "It's usually slower then," Maddux said of foot traffic between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. "I do recommend (voters) use the mail-in drop box."

Ballot dropboxes in Allegany County are located at the Allegany County Office Complex on Kelly Road and Mountain Ridge High School on Dr. Nancy Grasmick Lane in Frostburg. Cumberland's mayor and City Council, along with Allegany County commissioners, postponed their regular public meetings until after the election.

The Allegany County Commission race includes three open seats. Democratic candidates for the Allegany County Commission are Chelsea Boor and Carol Taccino. Republican candidates for these seats include incumbents Bill Atkinson, Creade Brodie Jr., and Dave Caporale, as well as newcomers Seth Bernard, Leona McTaggart, Dee Dee L. Ritchie, and David Alan Robison. Unaffiliated candidate Kit Pepper Lescallette will appear on the General Election ballot for the Allegany County Commission.

Non-partisan candidates for the city of Cumberland's mayor are incumbent Raymond Morriss, Darrell Lee Powell, William Taccino, and Dana A. Tinnen. Candidates for Allegany County sheriff are Republicans Rich Godlove, David R. Morgan, and Andrew Keith Opel. Republican incumbents James F. Elliott, Dawne Lindsey, and Mary Beth Pirolozzi are not challenged in their respective races for State's Attorney, Clerk of the Circuit Court, and Register of Wills.

Republican candidates for the three open seats on the Allegany County Judge of the Orphans' Court are Edward C. Crossland, Craig Robertson, and Penny Lyn Walker. Races for local school board and City Council members in Cumberland will be held in November. Local Board of Education and City Council regulations require seven candidates to run in a primary election. "They didn't have enough people to file," Maddux said. "They will have their race in the general (election)."

Cumberland's City Council will feature two open seats in November's general election, which includes a vacancy left by member Rock Cioni. Non-partisan candidates for Cumberland's City Council are incumbent James Leo Furstenberg III, Joe George, Brandon Timothy Scarlett, Gregory Elias Triantafillides, and William Valois. The Allegany County Board of Education will have three open seats for the fall election. Non-partisan candidates for the Allegany County Board of Education are incumbents Linda Alderman Widmyer, David A. Bohn, and Lori D. Lepley, and challengers Steven Jay Moon, Caren Phillips Kurtz, and Gary Taylor.