Maryland

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State of Maryland Elections and Voting

Election Day is November 8

  • October 18                  Deadline for voter registration (same-day registration is available)
  • October 27                  First day of early voting
  • November 1                Deadline to request a mail-in ballot via mail or fax
  • November 3                Last day of early voting
  • November 4                Deadline to request a mail-in ballot via the internet
  • November 8                Deadline to request a mail-in ballot in person
  • November 8                Deadline to postmark a mail-in ballot
  • November 8                Deadline to return a mail-in ballot in person or to a ballot drop off box
  • November 8                Election day

 

To register to vote in Maryland, you must:

  • Be a United States citizen
  • Be a Maryland resident
  • Be 18 years old by the next general election
  • Not have been convicted of buying or selling votes
  • Not be determined mentally incompetent by a court
  • Not be currently serving a sentence of imprisonment for a felony conviction

*Effective March 10, 2016, if you have been convicted of a felony, you are eligible to register to vote once you have completed the court-ordered sentence of imprisonment. For the purposes of eligibility to register to vote, convictions include federal, state and out-of-state convictions.

 

How to register to vote:

You can use Maryland’s Online Voter Registration System (OLVR) or submit a voter registration application to your local board of elections or the State Board of Elections to register to vote. You can also register to vote during early voting or on election day at your polling place.

 

Voter ID Requirements

Usually, you will not be asked to show ID if your name is on the list of registered voters. However, you will be asked to show ID if:​

  • You registered by mail and have not previously met the identification requirements.
  • Someone in the polling place challenges your identity.
  • You are registering to vote during early voting or changing your address during early voting.

If you do not have your ID with you, you may vote a provisional ballot for the gubernatorial primary election and bring your ID to your local election board before 10 a.m. on July 27, 2022, so that your identity and eligibility can be verified in time to count your vote. The acceptable forms of identification are:

  • A Maryland Driver’s License or other Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) issued identification
  • A student ID card that contains a photo
  • An employee ID card that contains a photo
  • A passport or other government issued ID
  • OR, if you do not have those forms of ID: a utility bill, bank statement, government check, or paycheck that shows your name and address and is less than three months old. If you are showing ID because you are voting for the first time, your name and address on the document must match the information on the voter registration roll.

 

Mail-In (Absentee) Voting

Any registered voter may vote by mail-in ballot. You don’t need a reason to vote by mail-in ballot. It’s another way to vote if you don’t want to or can’t go to an early voting center or your polling place. There are three ways you can request a mail-in ballot.

  • If you want to get a mail-in ballot for all future elections, you can sign up for the permanent mail-in ballot list when you request a mail-in ballot. Once you are on this list, we will send you your mail-in ballot for each future election you are eligible to vote in. You won’t have to submit a request for each election.

 

Party Affiliation

You have the option to register with any of Maryland’s recognized political parties. If you choose not to register with a party, you will be registered as “unaffiliated.” If registered as unaffiliated, you will generally not be able to vote in primary elections, but you will be able to vote in any nonpartisan primary election held in your jurisdiction, such as a primary election to select nominees for the board of education, and any general election.

 

Resources

 

Tribes in Maryland

Federally recognized tribes

  • None

State recognized tribes

  • Accohannock Indian Tribe
  • Piscataway Conoy Tribe
  • Piscataway Indian Nation and Tayac Territory

Native Vote Coordinators

Sophia Anokam

Sign up to be a local Native Vote coordinator, today!

Major Party Contact Information

Democrat
Chairperson, Yvette Lewis
www.mddems.org

Republican
Chairperson, Dirk Haire
www.mdgop.org

Posted in States.