Early In-Person Voting Begins In MD: What To Know In 2022 Election

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Maryland's early voting starts Thursday, Oct. 27 and runs through Thursday, Nov. 3. Early voting centers will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. each day.

Marylanders can cast their ballot at any early voting center in their county. Residents voting on Election Day, which is on Tuesday, Nov. 8, must visit their assigned polling place. Voters can check their polling place at this link.

There are dozens of positions and referendums on the ballot, from governor and a U.S. Senate seat to county executive and county council races. School board seats are also up for grabs, along with seats in the Maryland General Assembly.

Statewide races include those for governor, comptroller and attorney general. Congressional contests feature battles for the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Chris Van Hollen.

A statewide referendum will decide if recreational marijuana will be legal in Maryland.

When Is Early Voting?

Early voting will run from Oct. 27 through Nov. 3. Early voting centers will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. each day.

Marylanders can vote early at any early voting center in their county. A full list of early voting centers is posted here.

When Is General Election Day?

Election Day is Nov. 8. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Residents must vote at their assigned polling place on Election Day. Voters can look up their polling place by using this search tool.

To read more about the general election, visit this website.

How Can I Register To Vote?

Voter registration closed on Oct. 18. Marylanders can check their registration status at this link.

How Can I Vote By Mail Or Drop Box?

Marylanders can request a ballot to return by mail or drop box. The state can deliver those ballots to voters by mail or fax. Voters can also download their ballot from the state's website.

Residents can request a mail-in ballot by:

• Completing this online form.
• Visiting their local elections office.
• Filling out this form and mailing, faxing or emailing it to their elections office.

The deadline for ballot requests to be received, not just sent, is:

• Nov. 1 if the ballot will be delivered by mail or fax.
• Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. if using the mail to request a ballot that will be sent over the internet.
• Nov. 4 at 11:59 p.m. if using the online form or fax to request a ballot that will be sent over the internet.
• Nov. 8 if requesting a ballot in person at a local board of elections office.

Voters can check if their ballot request was received by using this tool.

Ballots received over the internet must be printed. Voters should then return their completed ballot by mail or drop box. Marylanders cannot cast their votes online.

Residents can return their completed ballot by:

• Hand delivering it to their local board of elections by 8 p.m. on Nov. 8 or taking it to an early voting center by the time the polls close.
• Mailing it to their local board of elections. These ballots must be postmarked on or before Nov. 8. Election officials must receive these ballots by 10 a.m. on Nov. 18.
• Placing it in one of these drop boxes in their county by 8 p.m. on Nov. 8. All 281 drop boxes are already in place and are currently accepting ballots.

More information on mail-in and drop-box voting is available on this website.

What District Am I In?

Voters can see which districts they live in by using this tool. That resource also lets Marylanders:

• Review their voter registration record.
• Request a duplicate voter registration card.
• Learn where to vote.
• See their current state and federal representatives.
• Contact their local board of elections.
• Check the status of their mail-in or provisional ballot.
• View their sample ballot.

Who Is Running For Local Government?

Here's where to find all the campaign websites listed on the Maryland State Board of Elections candidate portal to browse through candidates for state and local offices in your town.

Who Is Running For State Government?

Governor

• Dan Cox (R): dancoxforgovernor.com
• Wes Moore (D): wesmoore.com
• David Lashar (Libertarian): davidlashar.com
• Nancy Wallace (Green): wallaceforgovernor.us
• David Harding (Working Class Party)
• Kyle Sefcik (Unaffiliated write-in): kylesefcik.com

Related:

• Post-Primary, Moore And The Unions Come Together With No Overt Rancor
• Notes On The MPT Debate, And Where The Race For Governor Stands, Going Forward
• Day-After Gubernatorial Forum, Without Moore, Reveals 'Wide Range Of Opinions'
• Moore And Cox Sling Harsh Criticisms At One Another In Taut, Freewheeling TV Debate
• Cox Withdraws From 'Unite The Right' Event After Jewish Group Raises Concerns

Comptroller

• Barry Glassman (R): barryglassman.com
• Brooke Elizabeth Lierman (D): brookelierman.com

Related:

• Glassman, Lierman Differ On Role Of Comptroller
• Lierman Supporters Push Back, As Washington Post Calls Glassman A 'Traditional Republican'
• Glassman, Lierman Make Their Case To Be Maryland's Next Comptroller

Attorney General

• Michael Anthony Peroutka (R): facebook.com/patriots4peroutka
• Anthony G. Brown (D): anthonybrown.com

Related:

• Peroutka Pledges To Bypass Abortion, Marriage Laws; Would Pursue Legal Action Against Hogan

• MD Attorney General Candidate Hosted 9/11 Conspiracy Radio Shows

Who Is Running For Congress?

U.S. Senate

• Chris Chaffee (R): facebook.com/ChaffeeforUSSenate
• Chris Van Hollen* (D): vanhollen.org
• Scottie Griffin (D write-in)
• Andrew J. Wildman (Unaffiliated write-in): commonsense2nd.com

U.S. House District 1

• Andy Harris*, Republican: www.andyharris.com
• Heather R. Mizeur, Democratic: www.heathermizeur.com
• Daniel Frank Thibeault, Libertarian: d.thibeault@ymail.com
• George Gluck, Green: www.georgegluck.com

U.S. House District 2

• Nicolee Ambrose, Republican: www.ambroseforcongress.com
• C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger*, Democratic: www.dutchforcongress.com

U.S. House District 3

• Yuripzy Morgan (R): ymorgan.com
• John Sarbanes* (D): johnsarbanes.com

U.S. House District 4

• Jeff Warner, Republican: www.jeffwarnerforcongress.com
• Glenn F. Ivey, Democratic: www.iveyforcongress.com

U.S. House District 5

• Chris Palombi (R): chrispalombi.com
• Steny Hoyer* (D): hoyerforcongress.com

U.S. House District 6

• Neil C. Parrott, Republican: www.neilparrott.org
• David J. Trone*, Democratic: www.davidtrone.com

U.S. House District 7

• Scott M. Collier, Republican: Facebook facebook.com/scott.collier.543/
• Kweisi Mfume*, Democratic: www.mfumeforcongress.com

U.S. House District 8

• Gregory Thomas Coll, Republican: www.gregorycoll.com
• Jamie Raskin*, Democratic: www.jamieraskin.com
• Andrés Garcia, Libertarian

Is Anybody Else Running?

Yes. Several court positions and party central committee seats are also on the ballot. A full list of every race in Maryland is posted at this link.

For any other questions, visit elections.maryland.gov.

Are There Any Referendums?

Marylanders will decide five ballot measures in the Nov. 8 general election. The one with the widest impact is the question of whether recreational marijuana should be legal, known as Ballot Question 4.

If passed, residents 21 and older could use and possess up to 1.5 ounces of usable cannabis or 12 grams of concentrated cannabis on or after July 1, 2023.

More than half of Maryland's registered voters support legalizing recreational marijuana, multiple polls suggest.

Related:

• Biden Looks To Weed Decriminalization: What It Means Ahead Of MD Marijuana Referendum
• While Advocates Continue To Debate Ballot Question, State Bureaucrats Prepare For Legal Cannabis
• Online, Word Of Mouth Grass-Roots Effort Emerges To Oppose Legalizing Cannabis
• Black Activists And Political Leaders Mobilizing To Make Cannabis Legal In Maryland
• Moore Visits Pot Dispensary, Praises Biden Pardon Announcement On Simple Marijuana Possession

The other statewide ballot measures, as explained by Ballotpedia, if approved would:

• Rename the Maryland Court of Appeals as the Supreme Court of Maryland and change the Maryland Court of Special Appeals to the Appellate Court of Maryland.
• Amend the Maryland Constitution to require that state legislators live in and maintain a primary residence in the district they wish to represent for at least six months before an election.
• Amend the Maryland Constitution to only guarantee the right to a jury trial in civil cases if the amount in question is greater than $25,000. The current minimum for a jury trial is $15,000.
• Amend the state constitution to require that Howard County Circuit Court judges serve on the orphans' court and repeal the county's current elections for three judgeships on the orphans' court.

The exact wording of each ballot question is listed here. A non-technical summary of each question is available on this webpage.

Several jurisdictions also have local ballot questions.

All these state and county ballot questions will pass if they collect a plurality of votes. That means they just need to secure more yes's than no's.

The Howard County court question needs a plurality of votes statewide and a plurality in Howard County specifically to pass.

When Will The Results Be Certified?

Media outlets may project winners on election night based on large leads, but election officials will not certify the final results for at least 10 days. Officials must wait for every mail-in and provisional ballot to trickle in.

Soon after polls close on Nov. 8, the Maryland State Board of Elections will release the jurisdiction-specific tallies from in-person early voting and mail-in ballots counted up to Election Day.

Officials will then start releasing the in-person Election Day vote counts within a few hours of polls closing.

All 24 jurisdictions will start releasing their early voting and Election Day tallies on Nov. 8. That evening, only 10 jurisdictions will release their early mail-in ballot results tallied before Election Day.

The Maryland Court of Appeals on Oct. 7 ruled that local election offices can opt to start counting mail-in ballots before Election Day. They cannot release these results until after polls close on Election Day, however. Jurisdictions counting early must continue accepting mailed ballots postmarked by Nov. 8 until the statewide deadline of Nov. 18 at 10 a.m.

Related: Maryland's Highest Court Upholds Order Allowing Early Counting Of Mail-In Ballots

These jurisdictions plan to conduct pre-Election Day canvassing of mail-in ballots: Baltimore City and Allegany, Baltimore, Calvert, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's, Saint Mary's and Washington counties.

Fourteen jurisdictions do not have the space or personnel to count early mail-in ballots as they arrive.

These counties will start canvassing their mail-in ballots on Nov. 10, which is two days after Election Day: Anne Arundel, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Garrett, Harford, Kent, Queen Anne's, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico and Worcester counties.

"We appreciate the diligence of the local boards in assessing the most appropriate canvassing approach for their individual teams and always placing the integrity of the election process above all else to ensure the will of Maryland voters is heard through their votes," Maryland State Board of Elections Administrator Linda H. Lamone said in a press release.

Election officials will tally provisional ballots on Nov. 16. Mail-in ballots will be counted as they arrive until Nov. 18.

Local boards cannot certify their final results before Nov. 18.

Related: Maryland's Highest Court Upholds Order Allowing Early Counting Of Mail-In Ballots