ELECTION DAY: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3rd
POLLS OPEN ON ELECTION DAY & EARLY VOTING: 7AM-8PM
EARLY VOTING: MON, OCT 26 – MON, NOV 2

Why won’t I receive a ballot in the mail like the June primary?

  • Governor Hogan prevented the state board of elections from doing this. Instead he instructed the board to send mail-in ballot applications to all registered voters.

If I will receive a mail-in ballot request form, why should I request one on my own?

When should I expect my mail-in ballot request form?

  • SBE will start mailing the mail-in ballot request forms on August 24 and hope to finish by August 28 but no later than August 31

After I submit my request, when will I receive my ballot?

  • The State Board of Elections is scheduled to print ballots in late September, then will be mailed toward the end of the month.

What if I do not receive a ballot request form in the mail?

Will I have to have an additional envelope and postage ready to return my request form?

  • No. The request form will come with a prepaid return envelope. Your ballot will come with prepaid postage as well.

How do I know if my ballot request was received and processed?

What is the deadline to request a mail-in ballot?

  • The Board of Elections must receive your mail-in ballot application by Tuesday, October 20. But be sure to contact your local board of elections before requesting a new ballot so they may cancel any previous ballot in case it was lost in the system or went to an old address.
  • If voters submit a timely request for a ballot via web delivery, voters can download ballots up until 8 pm on November 3. (October 30 used to be the deadline to request a ballot if the voter wanted to download the ballot.)

How do I submit my mail-in ballot?

  • Mail your ballot. If you mail your voted ballot, make sure that the envelope is postmarked on or before general election day (November 3, 2020). Your voted ballot must be received by your local board of elections by 10 am on November 13, 2020.
  • Hand deliver your ballot. You must deliver it to your local board of elections by 8 pm on Election Day, or you may take it to an early voting center or a polling place by the time the polls close. You may also drop it off at a designated ballot drop-off box. Ballot drop-off boxes and polling locations will be officially announced soon.

Can I put a web (email) delivered ballot into a drop-off box?

  • Yes. Ballot drop-off boxes can collect both physical ballots sent to you by the Board of Elections OR ballots delivered/downloaded and printed online.

When is the deadline to submit my mail-in ballot?

  • The ballot must be postmarked by Election Day. That means it must be actually picked up by the mail service on Election Day. If the mail carrier has already visited and will not be back until the next day, your ballot will not be postmarked on time even though it was in the mailbox
  • When in doubt — on Election Day you can go to a polling location near you/find a ballot drop off box and physically hand in your ballot

Can I have someone pickup my mail-in ballot?

  • Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you cannot have someone designated to pick up your ballot because the local board of elections are currently closed to the public

Where can I find information on the election in Spanish/French/Viatmanese etc.?

  • If you go to the State Board of Elections website (elections.maryland.gov) you can click at the top right ‘Translate’ and there are nearly 100 language translation options for the site.

Will there be ballot drop-off boxes at Early Vote locations, and Election Day locations?

  • Not every location will have a ballot drop-off box. Right now, the State Board of Elections has secured at least 270 ballot drop-off boxes but it’s unlikely that SBE has one at every Early Voting and Election Day voting location. The SBE has stated they will include drop-box locations with your mail-in ballot.

Can I request a ballot, but decide to vote in-person instead on Election Day?

  • Yes you can. However, if you come to the polls and the Election Judge has on record that you requested a mail-in ballot, they will ask you to vote by provisional ballot so they can later verify the single vote in their system.
  • Even if a voter brings their blank mail-in ballot with them, they will be required to vote provisionally.

Why does the online form ask for my Driver’s License (or State ID) number and the last four digits of my social security number?

When will the State Board of Elections begin counting ballots?

  • Local boards are allowed to begin counting as early as Oct.1. The idea is to allow boards the time they need to get this substantial job done and ensure the returns can be certified by the required deadlines for the electoral college certification.
  • All results of ballots counted early will be embargoed until the polls close on Election Day. Voters should feel confident that no early results will be released. It would be against the law for local boards to release any early results.

When will I learn where my Early Voting center/ballot drop-off/Election Day voting center is?

  • Currently, the SBE has not released an official list of Early Voting centers, ballot drop-off locations, or Election Day voting centers. We have been told SBE will include location information along with voters mail-in ballots.

How many voting centers will be available on Election Day?

  • Election Day voting centers will be based on the number of high schools in the jurisdiction (jurisdictions can change locations if certain HS’s are not feasible). The number of high schools in a jurisdiction will provide a floor for the number of Election Day sites, but jurisdictions may create more if they have the resources.

What is the difference between a voting center and a precinct?

  • A voting center allows a voter to vote at any open voting center in their home county/jurisdiction. This is different from the normal election year where you are assigned to a specific precinct.