Maryland

7:00 am – 8:00 pm ET on November 5, 2024

• On Election Day, voters must vote in person at their assigned Election Day polling place.
• Use the Voter Location Lookup to search for a voter’s assigned polling place by address. Registered voters who have not moved can also find their polling place using the Voter Lookup tool.  
• During Early Voting, voters can vote at an early voting center in the county where they live. The list of early voting centers for the 2024 general election is available here.

Registration Deadlines

• For registration deadlines, see How to Register below.

How to Check Your Registration: Voters can determine whether they are registered to vote at the following link: Am I Registered?.

You are eligible to vote in Maryland if you:

• Are a U.S. citizen
• Are a resident of Maryland
• Are at least 18 years old by Election Day

You are NOT eligible to vote in Maryland if:

• You were convicted of buying or selling votes
• You are in prison or jail for a felony conviction
• A judge has specifically ruled that you are not able to vote.

Restorative Requirements

• If you have completed a felony prison sentence, even if you are still on parole or probation, then you are immediately eligible to register to vote.

Conviction of buying or selling votes results in permanent loss of voting rights.

You may preregister to vote in Maryland

• At the age 16

How to register 

• Maryland General Election
  • Apply Online: Online by Tue Oct 15, 2024 11:59PM
  • Submit a Printed Application: Postmarked by Tue Oct 15, 2024
  • Submitted by Tue Oct 15, 2024 5:00PM
  • In Person: Election Day Registration & Voting Tue Nov 5, 2024

Maryland has same day registration. Voters can register at any early voting center or at their assigned polling place on election day. They must submit proof of residency.

Voters can pre-register to vote online, in person, or via mail. 

• Voters with a Maryland Driver’s License or state ID can register to vote online here.
• Voters can print a voter registration application here: Voter Registration Application. They are available in English, Spanish, French, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and Korean. It can be submitted to the local board of elections or the State Board of Elections by mail or by hand delivery. 
• Voters can also complete voter registration in person at various government offices including at local board of elections offices, Motor Vehicle Administration offices, all public institutions of higher education, all recruitment offices of the U.S. Armed Forces, and  local Area Agency on Aging offices. 

Residents may register at age 16 but may not vote until they are 18 except that when they are 17, they may vote in a primary for a general election that will occur after they are 18.
There is no particular length of time that one has to be a Maryland resident before they can register to vote. The full registration procedures are outlined in the Voter Registration Introduction.

If You Want to Vote Absentee, requests may be made:

• By Mail
• By Fax
• By Email
• Online

Absentee Ballots may be returned:

• In-Person
• By Mail

Maryland General Election

Ballot Request:

• Request for Postal Ballot by Tue Oct 29, 2024
• Request for Fax Ballot by Tue Oct 29, 2024
• Request for Email or Online Ballot by Fri Nov 1, 2024
• In-Person Request by Tue Nov 5, 2024

Ballot Return:

• In-Person, Received by Tue Nov 5, 2024 8:00PM
• Received in Dropbox by Tue Nov 5, 2024
• Postmarked On or Before Election Day and Received by Fri Nov 15, 2024

Early Voting

• Early voting centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, October 24, 2024 – October 31, 2024. 
• Anyone who is eligible to vote may do so using early voting.
• Voters can vote in an early voting center in the county where they live. The list of early voting centers is posted in English or Spanish. 

Mail-in Voting

• Voters do not need a specific reason to vote by mail.
• Voters can request a mail-in ballot in 3 ways
  • Online with a Maryland driver’s license or state ID;
  • Filling out a paper application: English or Spanish (email addresses and fax numbers for submitting a request for a mail-in ballot are available here); or
  • Going in person to their local board of elections office to fill out the application 
• Mail-in ballots can be returned in 3 ways:
  • By hand to a ballot drop box:by 8 pm on Election Day. A list of ballot drop boxes is available here.
  • By hand  to (1) the local board of elections prior to the close of polls on Election Day, (2) to an early voting center during early voting or (3 to) an Election Day polling place by 8 pm on election day.
  • By mail. It must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by the local board of elections by 10 am ten days after Election day.
  • Voters can check the status of their mail-in ballot applications and their ballots on the voter look-up website on the state’s voter look-up website.

General Information

• Early Voting 
• Mail-in Voting

Voter Registration

To register to vote in Maryland you should provide one of the following:

• Maryland Learner’s Permit
• Your Maryland Driver’s License Number
• Your Maryland ID Number

If you do not have these IDs, you may provide:

• Last Four Digits of your Social Security Number

If you are registering for the first time by mail and can not be identified by the ID information you provided, you will need to provide proof of residence. Acceptable forms of proof of residence include:

• Maryland ID Card
• Government Issued Document that shows your current name and address
• Valid Maryland Driver’s License except one issued to an individual that is not a United States citizen
• Change of Address Card
• Current Utility Bill or Pay Check or Bank Statement

Voting In-Person

If you registered to vote in Maryland, you may be required to present valid ID if you are voting for the first time or your registration is incomplete. You can use any ID from this list:

• Paycheck that shows your Current Name and Address
• Utility Bill
• Valid Employee ID
• Valid Federal Issued ID
• Valid Military ID
• Government Check
• Valid US Passport
• Valid ID Issued by the Maryland Department of Motor Vehicles, Transportation, Highway Safety, etc.
• Government Issued Document that shows your Current Name and Address
• Bank Statement
• Valid Maryland Driver’s License
• Valid Student ID
• Valid Maryland Issued ID

Statements, checks and bills should be dated no earlier than 90 days before Election Day.

Voters who registered to vote or changed their address during early voting or on Election Day will need to show proof of residency.

ID may also be required if the voter’s identity is challenged 

Voters can check the voter lookup site to see if they have to show ID before voting. 

Voters without acceptable ID can cast a provisional ballot but must provide acceptable identification and/or proof of residence to the local board of elections by 10 a.m. the second Wednesday after the election for their ballot to be counted.

Voters who have moved should, if possible, update their registration prior to the deadline for pre-registration (21 days prior to the election) to reflect their new address. If they have not done so they may still vote at any early voting site in their county or at the election day polling place for their new address.

Where the voter is voting early and has not changed counties, they will cast a provisional ballot that will be counted provided that they complete and sign a provisional ballot application.  If they moved prior to the  pre-registration deadline they have the option of voting a regular ballot at their prior address. 

If the voter moved to Maryland from another state the voter may register at either an early voting center or at the precinct for their residence and vote a regular ballot. The voter need not be a Maryland resident for a certain period of time before being eligible to vote in Maryland.

Voting Military

Service members and their dependents may register and request a ballot using the federal voter registration/ballot request form (“FPCA”). You will have the following identification options when completing the form:

• U.S. State or Territory or District Issued ID
• Option to Indicate that you do not have the Requested ID
• Last 4 Digits of your Social Security Number

Voting Overseas

U.S. citizens living overseas may register and request a ballot using the overseas voter registration/ballot request form. You will have the following identification options when completing the form:

• U.S. State or Territory or District Issued ID
• Option to Indicate that you do not have the Requested ID
• Last 4 Digits of your Social Security Number

Military and other overseas citizens may use the standard procedure for voting by mail, but there are also special provisions for members of the U.S. Armed Forces and merchant marine, commissioned corps of the Public Health Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, along with family members of all these groups, and other citizens who reside outside the United States. Their address for voting purposes will be their last address at which they were registered or lived when enlisting or moving out of the country. 

Registering and Requesting a Mail-In Ballot: Military and overseas voters may register to and request  a mail ballot in the same manner as any other voter (See Questions 4 and 35). However, they can also fill out a Federal Post Card Application (“FPCA”) and send it to the local board of elections where they last resided in Maryland. It allows eligible military or overseas voters to simultaneously register and request their mail-in ballot. If a voter registers with a state voter registration form, they must separately request a mail-in ballot. Note that if the voter is registering to vote for the first time, the FPCA must be mailed in (i.e., may not be emailed or faxed) as it requires an original signature.

Receiving a Mail-In Ballot: Military and overseas voters may receive their mail-in ballots by mail, email/online or fax. To request electronic transmission of the blank ballot, military and overseas voters must mark the appropriate box and provide an email address or fax number on the Federal Post Card Application.

Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot: The Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) is a back-up ballot that military and overseas voters may use if they registered and requested an absentee ballot by the request deadlined but do not receive their regular ballot in time for it to be received before the return deadline. Military voters may use the FWAB whether they are located inside or outside the United States (including APO and FPO addresses), provided that they are away from their voting residence for service-related activities.

Casting a Ballot: Ballots may only be returned by mail, hand-delivery, or ballot drop off box; they cannot be submitted via email or fax:  If hand delivered, the ballot must be returned to the  local board of elections polling place, or drop box by 8:00 pm on Election Day and If mailed, it must be postmarked by election day and received by 10:00 am ten days after the election. For specific instructions, visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s website.

An individual who has been convicted of a felony and is currently incarcerated cannot vote. Once released from incarceration even if on parole or probation the person can vote unless the conviction was for buying or selling votes. The person will have to reregister. Individuals with misdemeanor convictions are not disqualified from voting..

Pretrial detainees who have not yet been convicted and persons with misdemeanor convictions are not disqualified from voting. They may apply for and cast a mail-in ballot.