Important dates for Maryland voters, upcoming November election
MARYLAND – With voters and election officials across Maryland already gearing up for the November election, there are quite a few important dates to keep in mind.
“Indeed there’s a lot of confusion out there and I don’t blame the voters one bit,” says Anthony Gutierrez with the Wicomico County Board of Elections.
First off, every registered voter will automatically be sent a mail-in ballot application by the end of August. “When a voter fills that out, signs it and sends it in to us that gives us permission to send in the official ballot,” says Gutierrez.
If you want to vote this way, officials recommend filling that out as soon as possible. Those mail-in ballot applications must be received by October 20th at the absolute latest. “If voting by mail is a good option for voters, we ask they either return the form they get in the mail or use our online system to request a ballot,” says Nikki Charlson, the Deputy Administrator for Maryland State Board of Elections.
Another time frame to keep in mind is the last week of September because that’s when voters, who have requested a ballot, should expect to start getting them in the mail.
Gutierrez says those mail-in ballots can be returned one of two ways, “We highly encourage we put it back in the mail immediately and give it about a month to get back to us or if they prefer use those drop boxes which are very convenient for our voters.”
Charlson says those drop boxes are managed by the local boards of elections and are not managed by the United States Postal Service.
The deadline to register to vote in Maryland is another important date: October 13th. Gutierrez says early in-person voting takes place two weeks, “It will start Monday, October 26th and run for eight straight days through and including Monday, November 2nd.”
Finally, Tuesday, November 3rd is Election Day. Every county will have voting centers open on Election Day and that’s also the final day to postmark or drop off ballots in a drop box. “We’re just asking people to think about how they want to vote and take the steps now to make that happen,” says Charlson.
Another thing to remember: it’s not necessary to fill out a mailed ballot application as well as an online mail-in ballot application. Officials say that just creates more work for them because they will have to verify that only one is sent. Also, there’s been some concern that party affiliation will be printed on the back on the mailed envelope like it was for the primary but Charlson says that’s not the case.
Maryland voters can also track the status of their mailed application, whether their ballot has been sent as well as when their voted ballot has been received and counted. That tool is available at VoterServices.Elections.Maryland.gov.
