Voting during a pandemic
while practicing appropriate social distancing measures.
There will be drop boxes available as well, at the voting centers and likely some other locations. Voters can drop off their ballots at voting boxes from May 21 to June 2.
While Maryland’s transition from inperson voting to voting by mail is accelerated by the pandemic, we can learn a lot from states that have been voting by mail for years.
Four states — Washington Oregon, Utah, and Colorado — already vote primarily by mail. Several other states, including Maryland, have made it easier for people to vote by mail in recent years. Today in Maryland, anyone can vote by mail without needing an excuse not to go in person.
In 2000, 10% of Americans voted by mail. In 2018, it was almost a third. When voting by mail is implemented well, it is widely considered to be effective and secure, with many benefits over in-person voting. It creates a paper record of every vote and allows voters to sit with a ballot and research races without the pressure to make decisions in a voting booth — a benefit for those with low literacy levels or for whom English is not their first language.
And there has been almost no fraud: Oregon voters have sent in over100 million ballots since 2000, and only about a dozen people have been caught and prosecuted for election fraud.
Mail ballots, with a return envelope and paid postage, for the primary will be sent to the more than 4 million eligible registered voters in Maryland. Others can easily go to the state board of elections website to request a ballot.
To make sure your voice counts, go to baltimorevotes.org to learn more about the process in the city and find links to register to vote and to check the address on file with the board of elections. To make sure your community is counted, share accurate and timely information with friends and neighbors. If you have questions, call the Baltimore Votes Election Hotline, 410-844-4859.
If we work together, we will demonstrate our strength and ensure that every voter who wants to be heard will be heard.