If you are unable to vote during early voting or on election day, you may vote by mail-in ballot. Find out more information about mail-in voting.
1. What elections are held in 2024?
2. Who is eligible to vote in the 2024 primary or general elections?
3. When do I have to register to be able to vote in the 2024 elections?
4. Can I vote by mail?
5. Where should I vote?
6. What is Maryland's voting system for voting in person at a polling place on election days?
7. Do I need to bring ID?
8. What's a provisional ballot, and why would I be asked to vote that way?
9. Other than voters and election officials, who may come inside a polling place and what can they do?
10. What am I permitted to do in the polling place?
11. Are polling places accessible to disabled voters?
12. Are children allowed in the polling place?
November 5, 2024 – Presidential general election to elect Maryland’s electors to the presidential electoral college, and representatives for federal, state, and local offices.
You must be registered to vote in order to vote in this year's elections. If you aren't sure if you are registered, or at what address, you can check your voter registration status online by visiting the voter services page of the State Board of Elections at https://voterservices.elections.maryland.gov/VoterSearch.
To be eligible to register, you must be:
At least 16 years old. (Note: If you will not be 18 years old on or before November 5, 2024, you can register, but you will not be able to vote in this year's presidential general election.)
You are ineligible to register if:
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The current statutory voter registration deadlines:
Maryland also has same-day voter registration during early voting and on election day. You can register to vote on election day by bringing a document showing proof of residency with you to vote. You can register to vote or change an existing voter registration during early voting.
Early voting: 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
While early voting is open, go to an early voting center in the county where you live and bring a document showing proof of residency. You can give proof of residency by showing the election judge a Maryland driver's license or identification card with your current address or, if you don't have these documents or they don't show your current address, you can show the election judge a paycheck, bank statement, utility bill, or other official document with your name and new address.
If the election judge determines that you are a resident of the county and qualified to register, you will be given a voter authority card to sign, and then issued a regular ballot.
For election day, go to the polling place assigned for your address. Find that HERE.
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Any registered voter may vote by mail. If you have a Maryland driver's license or MVA-issued ID card, you can request a mail-in ballot online from the State Board of Elections website. You can also download an application form or pick one up from your local board of elections office. The deadline for requesting an absentee or mail-in ballot depends on how you want to receive your blank ballot.
The deadline to request a mail-in ballot for the presidential primary election depends on how you want to receive your ballot.
If you hand deliver your request and the ballots are ready, you can pick up your mail-in ballot. You may take your mail-in ballot with you and return it by mail, or you can vote it at the local board office and give it to an election official. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot in person is election day, November 5, 2024. Please visit your local board of elections' website for hours of operation.
If you want to receive your ballot by mail or fax, your request must be received (not just mailed) by Tuesday, October 29, 2024.
If you want to receive your ballot via the internet,* your request must be received by 5pm, Friday, November 1, 2024, for a request sent in the mail, or by 11:59 pm, Friday, November 1, 2024, for a request sent by fax or submitted online.
If you miss the deadlines to request your ballot by mail, fax, or via the internet, but still want to vote by mail-in ballot, you or your agent must apply in person at your local board of elections. For more information about someone else picking up your ballot, see “Can I have someone pick up my ballot?" below.
*Please note that a ballot received via the internet must still be returned by hand, by mail, or dropped at a ballot drop off box.
You must mail your voted ballot back to your local board of elections office, or hand deliver your voted ballot to your local board of elections office, an early voting center, or an election-day polling place. In addition, you may drop off completed mail-in ballots in an Official Ballot Drop Box. Voters can drop off mail-in ballots as soon as the drop-off boxes are available until 8:00 pm on Election Day. The locations where those boxes will be available for use are listed here.
If you hand deliver your ballot, you must deliver it to your local board of elections, an election day polling place, or a ballot drop-off box by 8:00 p.m. on election day, November 5, 2024.
If you mail your ballot, the envelope must be postmarked on or before election day, November 5, 2024.
For detailed instructions on how to complete and return an absentee or mail-in ballot, go to the State Board of Elections website.
If you wish to vote in-person during the presential general election, you may vote at any of the early voting centers in your county between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., October 24 through October 31, 2024. Find your early voting center here.
If you wish to vote in-person on election day (Novemmber 5, 2024), you will vote at your designated polling place between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Check on the State Board of Elections Voter Services/Voter Look-up for your current voting location.
Voters who appear in person to vote on election day will be given the choice to mark a pre-printed paper ballot by hand or to mark their ballots using an electronic ballot marking device.
Voters will mark the pre-printed paper ballots by hand at a voting booth. Voters will review their marked paper ballots and then insert them into a scanner that tabulates the voters' selections. The paper ballots then automatically drop into a secure ballot box.
An electronic ballot marking device will also be available at polling places on election day. These devices are available for all voters to use, and also contain accessible features that let voters make selections using a keypad with Braille-embossed navigation buttons and an audio headset. The ballot marking device also enables voters to magnify text and change the contrast on the screen and can be used with other assistive devices. The ballot marking device will print your ballot, which you must then insert into a separate scanner that tabulates the voters' selections. Please review your printed ballot to ensure that the selections indicated on the ballot are the ones you intended to choose.
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:
If you do not have your ID with you, you may vote a provisional ballot for the presidential general election and bring your ID to your local election board before 10 a.m. on November 13, 2024, so that your identity and eligibility can be verified in time to count your vote. The acceptable forms of identification are:
The election judges will offer a provisional ballot to a person who thinks they are an eligible voter but whose name is not listed in the voter registration database. Provisional ballots list the same choices as regular ballots and look the same. However, a provisional voter must complete the information on the provisional ballot envelope, put the ballot inside the envelope, and give it to the election judge for placement in the provisional ballot bag. Do not put a provisional ballot in a scanner at the polling place.
A provisional ballot will be counted if the local board of elections is able to verify that the provisional voter is registered and eligible to vote in Maryland. Provisional ballots are counted even if they will not change the outcome of an election. Therefore, if a person is eligible to vote, it makes no difference if the voter has voted a regular ballot or a provisional ballot. The provisional ballot procedure is designed to make sure that no one is mistakenly turned away at the polls. You might be asked to vote on a provisional ballot for various reasons:
You are voting on election day, and you are not listed as registered to vote.
You are voting on election day, and you moved but did not update your address for voting.
The database shows that you requested a mail-in ballot for this election or already voted in this election. If you have not already voted, election officials will count your provisional ballot. Willfully and knowingly voting, or trying to vote, more than once is against the law. If you do this, election officials will refer you to law enforcement agencies for further investigation.
During early voting, you tried to register to vote or change your address, but your eligibility was not determined at that time. Your ballot will count for the election if you meet all of the eligibility requirements. You have until 10:00 a.m. on November 13, 2024, to prove where you live to your local board of elections. See Question 7 above for acceptable forms of proof.
You did not provide ID when asked. You need to show ID because you are voting for the first time in Maryland and did not previously meet the ID requirements. For your ballot to count for the election, provide ID to your local board of elections before 10:00 a.m. on November 13, 2024.
You did not provide your driver's license number or the last four digits of your social security number on your voter registration form or election officials could not verify the number you provided. To finish your registration for the election, provide an ID number or an ID to your local board of elections before 10:00 a.m. on November 13, 2024. Acceptable forms of ID are listed above.
Someone challenged your right to vote. If your local board of elections determines that you are the person you say you are, your provisional ballot will count. You may wish to contact your local board of elections and provide ID.
If a court orders polling places to stay open late, and you voted during this time. When a court issues an order like this, all voters who vote during the extra hours must vote by provisional ballot. As long as the court order is upheld, your provisional ballot will count.
After the election, you can use the State Board of Elections voter look-up website to find out if your provisional ballot was counted and, if not, the reason why it was not counted. This information is ordinarily available ten days after the election.
There are rules in place to protect the privacy of people's voting choices and preserve order in the polling place. There is a procedure for being designated an accredited “challenger and watcher." Accredited challengers and watchers may watch voters check in and may challenge a person's identity when they have a basis for doing that. Challengers and watchers are not allowed to talk to voters, read the voter registration list, go past the check-in table, take pictures of a voter's choices on a ballot, use electronic devices, wear campaign regalia, handle ballots or equipment, or move about in the polling place without an election judge's permission. For the rules on challengers and watchers and how to be designated, please visit https://elections.maryland.gov/pdf/Challenger_and_Watchers_Manual_2024.pdf. That page also has more information on the other election activities that accredited challengers and watchers may observe, and the limits on the activities of a person who is not accredited but is there to challenge a voter's identity. Please contact your local board of elections for more details about how challengers and watchers may be involved on election day.
A person with a disability may bring someone to help as long as that person is not:
The person who assists the voter must sign the Voter Assistance Form and cannot suggest how the voter should vote.
For the rules on children, see question 12 below.
Voters may not stay in the polling place after they have voted. Although you may wear a campaign t-shirt or button when you vote, you may not linger and may not campaign or talk to other voters about the election while you are in the polling place. Also, you may not use cellphones and other electronic devices in the polling place.
You may bring election materials with you, including your sample ballot to the polling place. You may mark your choices on your sample ballot ahead of time so that you can vote quickly once you have checked in. Do not try to put a sample ballot in the scanner, and do not leave any election materials in the polling place.
For the rules of conduct in a polling place, please visit https://elections.maryland.gov/voting/election_day_questions.html.
For an explanation of when you might need your ID, see question 7.
All early voting centers and most regular polling places are accessible to voters with disabilities. Check your sample ballot for the location of your polling place and see if it is described as an accessible polling location. You may also use the voter look-up website to find that information. If your polling place is not accessible, there will be a list of the reasons why. This may help you decide if the polling place is accessible for you.
If your polling place is not accessible, you may vote at an early voting center during early voting, request a mail-in ballot (see question 4), or complete a Request for Polling Place Change or Mail-in Ballot through the State Board of Elections.
For more information on accessible voting methods, please visit https://elections.maryland.gov/voting/accessibility.html.
You may bring one or two children under 18 years old with you to vote. The children may come with you as long as they do not disrupt or interfere with normal voting procedures. For the rules of conduct in a polling place, please visit https://elections.maryland.gov/voting/election_day_questions.html.
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Voters should report any issues (polling location, voter fraud, voter intimidation, etc.) to the
State Board of Elections at 1-800-222-8683.
Safely Exercising Your Right to Vote: Guidance for Marylanders on Voter Intimidation At or Near Polling Places
1-888-373-7888
233733
