BALTIMORE — Election Day is a week away, and it’s also the last day for the state to receive mail-in ballot requests.
For voters who want to vote by mail and haven't already dropped their request in the mail, it is too late to send it in.
However, voters who missed the deadline and still want the convenience of using one of a drop boxes can go online and request a ballot with their Maryland driver's license or state ID.
Voting by mail took off during the pandemic and for many voters, it remains their choice for exercising their right to vote.
So far, election boards across the state have received more than 270,000 mail-in ballots, with another 185,000 Marylanders submitting ballots during early voting in the first five days, with 44,740 people submitting their ballots on Halloween alone.
With only seven days until Election Day, anyone who wants to vote by mail should be aware of the deadlines so they don't miss the chance to cast their ballots.
For voters who want to receive their ballot by mail or fax, their request must be received by the board of elections by Tuesday, November 1.
If voters are able to receive their ballot via the internet, their request must be received by mail by 5 p.m. Friday, November 4.
Voters have until 11:59 p.m. Friday to make that request by fax or online.
There are 281 ballot boxes around Maryland.
A court ruling in September allowed local election boards to start counting before election day.
Nine counties along with Baltimore city already have started counting while 14 counties will wait to start counting until after election day.
All hope is not lost for voters who end up missing all of the deadlines, but still want to vote by mail, but they’ll have to apply in-person at their local board of elections office.
The deadline to request a mail-in ballot in person is Election Day itself, Tuesday, November 8.
More answers to questions about voting by mail may be found here.
