ANNAPOLIS, MD – June 2, 2020 – The Maryland State Board of Elections strongly encourages all eligible voters to exercise their right to vote in today’s primary election. Those wishing to vote by mail still have an opportunity to do so, as ballots must be postmarked no later than today (June 2) in order to be counted.
Those who are unable to vote by mail may submit their completed ballots at designated ballot drop-off locations located in every local jurisdiction. Eligible voters may also cast their ballots at a limited number of in-person voting locations around the state. Same-day registration will be available at designated voting centers for eligible voters who choose to vote in-person today.
The Maryland statewide primary is currently underway with more than 10,000 in-person votes cast since 7:00AM. All voting locations opened on-time this morning and without incident.
The Maryland State Board of Elections has been made aware of some instances where a vote-by-mail ballot was deemed “undeliverable” by the United States Post Office, but categorized as “voted and returned” in the electronic pollbooks. In those cases, the voter will be allowed to vote by provisional ballot and the ballot will count. The Board is working to ascertain how many undeliverable ballots were characterized in this manner.
Saint Mary’s County (2 locations):
Hollywood Firehouse Main Building
24801 Three Notch Road
Hollywood, MD 20636
Saint Mary’s County Board of Elections
41650 Tudor Hall Road
Leonardtown, MD 20650
Charles County (2 locations):
Sacred Heart Friendship Hall
201 St. Mary’s Avenue
La Plata, MD 20646
Charles County Board of Elections
201 East Charles Street
La Plata, MD 20646
Calvert County (1 location):
Community Resources Building
30 Duke Street
Prince Frederick, MD 20678
A full list of ballot box and in-person voting centers is available online. Eligible voters may submit their ballots at drop box locations until 8 p.m. In-person voting centers will be open today from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, voting for today’s primary will be conducted primarily by mail. The pandemic also resulted in the date of the Primary being postponed from April 28.
Mail-in ballots for today’s primary have been sent by U.S. Postal Service to all eligible state voters at addresses provided to the Maryland State Board of Elections. While the mail-in ballots received by voters display the original Primary date of April 28, the ballots are in fact valid for today’s election. Voters should be aware these are official ballots that will record actual votes. They are not sample ballots.
The return ballot must be postmarked no later than today June 2 but can be mailed at any time before election day. Voters should sign only the oath on the outside of the envelope but not the ballot itself.
The Maryland State Board of Elections strongly encourages all voters who can cast their ballots by mail to do so. Voting by mail is safe, secure and free. No postage is required to vote by mail. Voters simply fill out their ballot, sign the oath on the envelope and place it back in the mail.
Votes cast by mail remain secret. The same technology and equipment used for in-person voting is utilized to count mail-in ballots. The equipment is never connected to the Internet or any other database.
The Maryland State Board of Elections is committed to educating voters on the changes made to the election procedures due to the novel coronavirus epidemic. These changes have been made to ensure voters can exercise their fundamental right to vote while also safeguarding the public’s health during this pandemic.
For more information about this election, please visit www.elections.maryland.gov or contact the State Board at 1-800-222-8683.