What the Md. board of elections wants you to know before voting in the upcoming election

August 19, 2020

By: Brad Bell

Read the full article here.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (ABC7) — The state board of elections met again Wednesday afternoon to continue firming up plans for the November 3rd General election and trying to make sure voters are informed about what comes next.

First and foremost, they want voters to know that applications for mail-in ballots will be sent out next week.

Actual ballots if requested won’t come until October. If you choose to fill out a ballot application, you’re asked to mail it ASAP.

But instead of waiting for that application for a ballot to come in the mail, the state board of elections is recommending that you go to their website now and with a few clicks request a ballot online. That website is elections.maryland.gov and it is proving to be quite popular.

Already a quarter-million people have requested a ballot this way.

State Senator Cheryl Kagan from Montgomery County has been vocal about the election. She says now with plans finalized, it’s up to voters to reduce stress on the postal service.

“When you get your ballot,” Kagan suggests, “Don’t wait forever to think about it. You probably already know whether you are done with Donald Trump or want four more years, so cast your ballot, and then either drop it at a drop off box or at your post office.”

Come election day, there will be about 360 voting centers in the state for in-person voting and 160 drop boxes for mail-in ballots.

One concern remains election judges. The chair of the board of elections expressed concerns about volunteers being turned away by local election boards.

If you’d like to volunteer, you can sign up to do so at elections.maryland.gov.