Dorchester election officials reassure public after underage voters receive ballots in the mail

DORCHESTER CO., Md. – Dorchester County Board of Election officials are trying to reassure the public after 51 residents, under the age of 18, were included on a voter mailing list.

According to Maryland election law, 16-year-olds can register to vote and are considered active voters even though they can’t cast a ballot until they’re 18-years-old. The county says on September 8th, they sent a list of active voters to their vendor. Then on September 28th, they were told that a Cambridge resident under the age of 18 received a ballot. However officials say they’ve sifted the underage voters out and gave the vendor a final list on September 29th so they assure voters that things are correct moving forward.

“Those individuals that the city of Cambridge mailed a ballot to would not be counted and if they chose to vote and return that ballot they would be rejected in their process,” says Gwendolyn Dales, the Director of the Board of Elections for Dorchester County.

Gales says she encourages people who are 16 to register to vote so that when their time comes to legally cast a ballot it’s a simple process.

For Marylanders, 18 years or older, the deadline to register to vote for the upcoming election is October 13th.