Thomas Tyler wanted to leave nothing to chance, so he arrived at the Silver Spring Civic Center roughly an hour before early voting kicked off at 7 a.m. And he wasn’t alone. By the time the doors opened, hundreds of people were already standing in a line long enough that it doubled back on itself.

“This is the most important election of our lifetime,” said Tyler, a 67-year-old management consultant. “I would have come if I had to wait hours. I would have been here all day.”

And that was the general sentiment from many voters as eight days of early voting started Monday at 80 sites across Maryland, including 11 in Montgomery County and another 11 in Prince George’s County. Many voters at the Silver Spring voting site said they felt this election to be more consequential than any in recent memory, and they would stop at nothing from participating.

“It’s not fun,” said Arianne Gallagher Daley, a 22-year-old college student from Takoma Park, about the long line of voters stretching in front of her. “I’m not super happy about it, but I want to vote, I want my voice to be heard. If that means waiting in line for a couple of hours to change our country, I think that’s worth it.”

Similar energy has been seen across the country and also the region. In Virginia, where early voting started Sept. 18 and wraps up this Saturday, hours-long waits have been reported at some polling places in Fairfax County. With just over a week until Election Day, some 58.6 million early votes have already been cast across the country, surpassing the total for 2016. And in Maryland, 1.6 million people have requested mail ballots, with almost half of those having been completed and returned to election boards.

Election officials say they’re not surprised to see lines forming on the first day of early voting in Maryland. Beyond the heightened interest in the election, voters are being asked to remain socially distant from each other, stretching lines further outside of polling places.

“We are excited that our voters are excited. Keep in mind this is not the only day for early voting: we have eight consecutive days from today through Nov. 2,” said Gilberto Zelaya, a spokesman with the Montgomery County Board of Elections, who was at the Silver Spring voting site early Monday. “This is a math equation. There’s about 260 people in line, multiply times six feet of social distancing, it’s a little bit over 1,500 feet. We saw this on the first day of early voting in Virginia, so it’s a no-brainer.”

Zelaya encouraged voters to put together a voting plan, not be put off by long lines, and consider using any of the 11 early voting sites across Montgomery County. While waits in Silver Spring were said to exceed 90 minutes on Monday morning, they stood at less than an hour in Wheaton and 30 minutes in Damascus. (There were also lines reported in Prince George’s County.) He also reminded voters that Maryland offers same-day voter registration.

“I wanted to make sure that I got it done and got it done early. I didn’t want any problems to crop up later in the week,” said Rachel Bowers, a 50-year-old electrical engineer who arrived in Silver Spring at 5:30 a.m. and was among the first people to vote. “I didn’t know what was going on with the mail or drop boxes. I figured if I go, it’ll get counted.”

Much of the energy in Silver Spring seemed to benefit Democrats; Recent polling has found Vice President Joe Biden with a solid lead over President Trump in Maryland, 61-30. But Bob, a retired Baltimore city police officer who opted not to share his last name, said the energy of the election was fueling his continued support for Trump.

“The country is fine. We’ve got the greatest country in the world. We’ve got some messed up politicians, but so does Russia. Once we get through with the China virus, we’ll be fine,” he said. “It’s a very politically charged time. Everyone is up in arms. It’ll be a record turnout I’m sure.”

Tyler, on the other hand, said the country is not fine, and he would use his vote as a way to express that.

“This is personal, and I’m swelling with a sense of intentionality to make my voice heard that this is unacceptable,” he said. “We are one nation under god, indivisible. We don’t always have to agree, but it is self-destructive to be disagreeable.”

Barbara Thomas, 70, marveled at the line in front of her — but said it made her feel more optimistic about the eventual outcome.

“This is the longest line I have ever been in in my entire life. But it’s worth it, really, to better our nation,” she said, staring at the hundreds of voters aligned in front of her. “The more the better!”

Early voting sites in Maryland will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Nov. 2. In D.C., early voting starts on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.