Last Day For Maryland Voters To Register, Change Parties

MARYLAND — Tuesday, June 5, is the last day to register to vote in Maryland before the June 26 primary election in three weeks. If residents want to change their party affiliation or address, or request an alternate polling location, they must do so by 9 p.m. Tuesday.

The Maryland primary is a closed primary election, meaning registered residents can vote only in their own party's primary. Residents must register with a specific political party. Maryland residents who are eligible to vote but are not yet registered – including 17-year-olds who will be 18 years old on or before the November 6th General Election – must register by 9 p.m. Tuesday.

A variety of races will be on the primary ballots, from county school boards and councils to incumbent U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin seeking another term, and Gov. Larry Hogan running for re-election. The 2018 race has Hogan facing a large field of Democrats, including Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker III, former NAACP president Ben Jealous, state Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr., attorney James Shea, tech entrepreneur Alec Ross, and former Michelle Obama aide Krishanti Vignarajah. Baker and Jealous are seeking to become the state's first African-American governor. Valerie Ervin, once running as lieutenant governor for Kevin Kamenetz until he died suddenly last month, has taken the reins as a candidate for governor.

If you're unsure whether or not you're registered, you can check online by clicking "Look up your voter information."

Residents with a Maryland driver’s license or MVA-issued ID may register to vote, change their address or change their party affiliation online.

Voters and members of the military, their spouses and dependents who are overseas and who do not have a Maryland driver’s license or MVA-issued ID, may also register or change their address or party affiliation online using different identifying information.

Paper voter registration applications are available throughout Maryland at these locations: Local boards of elections, Motor Vehicle Administration offices, State Department of Health offices, Local Department of Social Services offices, Offices on Aging, Division of Rehabilitation Services, Recruitment offices of the U.S. Armed Forces, Public institutions of higher education, Marriage license bureaus, Post offices, Public libraries, State Board of Elections and the MTA Paratransit Certification Office.

Paper applications must be hand-delivered or mailed. A hand-delivered application must be received by 9 p.m. Tuesday, and a mailed application must be postmarked by June 5, 2018.

You may call 1-800-222-8683 to request an application by mail or download and print a voter registration application here.

An elderly voter or a voter with a disability who is assigned to an inaccessible polling place may ask to be reassigned to an accessible polling place. This request must be submitted in writing by 9 p.m. Tuesday. The request form is available online, or residents can call 1-800-222-8683 to request a form by mail.

When can I vote early?

• Primary Election - Thursday, June 14, 2018 through Thursday, June 21, 2018 from 10 am until 8 pm.
• General Election - Thursday, October 25, 2018 through Thursday, November 1, 2018 from 10 am until 8 pm.

Where can I vote early?

You can vote in an early voting center in the county where you live. See a list of the 2018 Primary early voting sites (PDF).

Early voting locations and hours and additional election-related dates and information are available here.

(Patch File Photo)