Maryland's voting season begins as mail-in ballots set to be sent out Friday

BALTIMORE — The general election voting season starts soon in Maryland, with mail-in ballots being sent out as early as Friday, according to Maryland Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis.

All mail-in ballots requested thus far are due to be sent to voters by Monday. Mail-in ballots can be requested online or by mail by Oct. 29 through the State Board of Elections website. Voters can request them in person at a local board of elections office.

The deadline to request mail-in ballots in person from local election boards is 8 p.m. on Nov. 5, according to the elections board’s website. But in order for them to be counted, mail-in ballots must also be placed in a ballot drop box or postmarked by 8 p.m. on Nov. 5.

Early voting will occur between Oct. 24 and Oct. 31 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Election Day is Nov. 5. Voters can find their assigned polling places on the State Board of Elections’ website.

Several local jurisdictions, including Baltimore City, are seeking volunteers to serve as election judges.

“Election administration is something that people don’t see that’s so critically important, and it’s also something that, if it’s missing, people see fast, so it’s a hard thing to do,” Roger Hartley, the dean of the University of Baltimore’s College of Public Affairs, said in an interview.

Hartley pointed to a series of reasons recruitment may be low, like finding people who are available to serve all day on a week day.

He also pointed to the current elections climate.

“The national perception has been driven from the past election, where poll workers were insulted and attacked by people,” Hartley said. “It could also be that people are feeling not just unsafe, but that this is really not fun.”

At the top of the ticket, Marylanders will make their selection for president between Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, and former President Donald Trump, a Republican.

In the primary, Democratic voters overwhelmingly nominated President Joe Biden to run against Trump. Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris in July. She was named as the presidential nominee at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last month.

Hartley said that turnout is typically higher during presidential election years than in the midterms.

“No matter who you are the stakes are really high,” he said, noting that Trump supporters are expecting to turn out in droves because they feel if he doesn’t win the “consequences will be dire.”

“And I think Democrats feel the same way,” Hartley said. “There’s going to be a lot of people coming to the polls — especially in battleground states” — and that’s where having a lot of election judges is really important.

Voters will also select their pick to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, who is retiring after serving decades in various public offices in Maryland.

In a Tuesday poll conducted by Emerson College, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Angela Alsobrooks led Republican nominee Larry Hogan, a popular former governor, by seven percentage points.

Marylanders statewide will also be able to vote on Question 1, which would amend the state constitution to guarantee “every person … the fundamental right to reproductive freedom,” including the ability to “prevent, continue or end one’s own pregnancy” without state interference.

While the word “abortion” is not in the question, its protection is implied under the right to end a pregnancy.

Hartley sees this as an advantage for Democrats, who have an overwhelming majority in Maryland over Republicans.

“In this particular case, it is a supplemental opportunity that Democrats put on the ballot to turn out Democrats, and it will,” he said.

This year’s ballot question was the Maryland General Assembly’s response to the decision in the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned 50 years of precedent established in the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade.

Down the ticket, Marylanders will also vote for their congressional representatives.

U.S. Reps. Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes and David Trone are vacating their seats.

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olzsewski Jr., a Democrat, is running against Republican Kim Klacik to replace Ruppersberger; Democratic state Sen. Sarah Elfreth and Republican Robert J. Steinberger are vying for Sarbanes’ seat; and Democrat April McClain Delaney is facing former Del. Neil Parrott, a Republican, to take Trone’s seat he vacated to run a losing Senate campaign against Alsobrooks.

Baltimore residents will cast their ballots for mayor and city council representative, as well as a slate of local charter amendments.

Republican Shannon Wright is running against the incumbent, Democratic Mayor Brandon Scott. Of the 14 city council districts, only five have contested races.

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