BALTIMORE — More than 400,000 mail-in ballots have been sent to eligible Marylanders. People are gearing up for primary elections and it's important to understand the do’s and don't s when it comes to casting mail-in ballots.
The main thing people should do is sign the oath, without the signature the vote will not count. If you're filling it out, just make sure you fill in the circle the way that it tells you to.
You can either mail your vote in or take it to a drop, but in order to have your vote counted, all mail-in ballots must be postmarked no later than the date of the primary election, July 19. The right to vote is not taken lightly, which is why the city and the county are going through lengths to ensure absentee ballots are protected.
"We have various safety measures in place. All of our drop boxes have seals, they have locks, they are checked and rechecked every day. Our team that goes and gets the ballots are bipartisan, there's a whole chain of custody that goes through with every ballot that we get," said James Harris, I.T. Supervisor Baltimore County Board of Elections.
"For the first time, we've ordered cameras and lights for all drop boxes. We have state of the art equipment to help protect all ballots," said Armstead Jones, Election Director, Baltimore City.
People can request a mail-in ballot from the state board of elections or their local board, but the request for a mail-in ballot for the primary election must be received by July 12, 2022.
According to the State Board of Elections:
Voters who prefer to cast their ballots in person may do so during eight days of early voting or on July 19.
Early voting runs from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. beginning Thursday, July 7 and continuing through Thursday, July 14. Voters can vote early at any early voting center in the county in which they live.
A complete list of early voting centers for the Primary Election is listed here.
