How To Cast Your Vote In Maryland Before Or On Nov. 3

By RACHEL CLAIR, KAANITA IYER and JACOB ROUSSEAU, Capital News Service

With confusion looming over voting amid the coronavirus pandemic, the state has announced plans to make it easier to vote in the upcoming general and local elections on Nov. 3.

The revamped voting process includes ballots sent via mail and accessible drop box locations for those who wish to avoid in-person voting, as well as early voting centers to ease expected delays.
Capital News Service has assembled the following guide on voter registration, voting by mail, and early and Election Day voting in Maryland.

There are lots of ways to vote in Maryland. Let’s break down the steps for each.

First, you must be registered to vote. Contact your local or state Board of Elections to confirm your address. You may register online or by mail. The deadline is Oct. 13. For more information: https://voterservices.elections.maryland.gov/OnlineVoterRegistration/InstructionsStep1.

If you do not want to go to a polling place in person on or before Election Day, the first step is to request a ballot.

The Board of Elections is urging Marylanders to vote through mail-in ballots — formerly known as absentee ballots — due to the coronavirus pandemic. Maryland’s mail-in process is two steps: A ballot request form; and then the ballot.

Maryland voters should have received, by mid-September, mail-in voting applications in the mail sent to their home addresses. Return this application to the Board of Elections to have a ballot sent to you. Here is a video explaining the process: https://youtu.be/X3SEja6u6xg

Voters who did not receive a mail-in voting application in the mail can request one on the Maryland Board of Elections website.

Mail-in voting applications, whether sent online or through the mail, must be returned by Oct. 20.

Once your application for a mail-in ballot has been processed, you may pick up a ballot at some local boards of elections; you may print your ballot from an email link sent to you; or it can be mailed or faxed to you.

Ballots can be sent via the U.S. Postal Service, hand delivered to a local board of elections or polling place, or put in official drop boxes. Ballots may be marked online, but may not be emailed, faxed or cast online.

Voters who choose to mail-in their votes through the Postal Service must have them postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by 10 a.m. Nov. 13, in order to be counted. Ballots must be filled out in black ink and the envelope (but not the ballot) should be signed.

The Board of Elections is installing around 280 boxes in public places around the state. Here is a list of locations.

The deadline to drop ballots in one of these boxes is 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.

Related:

• Mail-In Voting In Maryland: Deadlines, How To Get A Ballot
• Mail-In Voting Worries In MD, 23% Plan To Vote In Person Nov. 3

Maryland residents may vote in person at early voting locations or, on Election Day, at polling places.

Early voting will run from Monday, Oct. 26, to Monday, Nov. 2. Voters must vote in their home county. There are at least 89 early-voting centers across the state: https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2020/2020%20Early%20Voting%20Centers.pdf.

On Election Day, there will be more than 300 voting centers statewide, and these can be found here: https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2020/PG20_List%20of%20Election%20Day%20Vote%20Centers.pdf.

Centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 3. COVID-19 precautions and signs will be implemented at these centers to ensure the safety of voters.