Deadlines Approach for Voter Registration, Absentee and Early Voting

The deadline to register to vote in the November 6 general election is 9 p.m. Oct. 16.

That's the deadline to update address information and request a polling place change as well, according to a news release from the Baltimore County executive's office.

Register to vote or update your address information.

To be eligible to vote, Maryland residents who are eligible to vote but are not yet registered, including 17-year-olds who will be 18 or older, on or before the November 6 general election, must register to vote.

Applications can also be hand-delivered or mailed. 

A mailed application must be postmarked by Oct. 16, the same deadline for registered voters to update address information to the Baltimore County Board of Elections, it states.

Paper voter registration applications are available at the following locations, according to the release:

• 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
• Public institutions of higher education
• Marriage license bureaus
• Post offices
• Public libraries
• State Board of Elections
• Call 1-800-222-8683 to request an application by mail
• www.elections.state.md.us/voter_registration/index.html

Voters with disabilities

Most of Maryland’s polling places are accessible to voters with disabilities, the release states.

An elderly voter or a voter who wants a different, more accessible polling place may ask to be reassigned.

To be reassigned, submit the request in writing by 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 16. The form to request a new polling place is available at www.elections.state.md.us (then type “polling place reassignment” in the Search field).

Verify registration

On the State Board of Elections’ website, a voter can check their voter registration status and see if their assigned polling place is accessible. Find your registration status.

Early Voting

Starting the second Saturday before the election, through the Thursday before the election, voters can vote in person at the following places, according to the news release:

• Randallstown Community Center
  3505 Resource Drive
  Randallstown, MD 21133
• Towson University Administration Building
  7720 York Road
  Towson, MD 21252
• Bloomsbury Community Center
  106 Bloomsbury Avenue
  Catonsville, MD 21228
• Honeygo Community Center
  9033 Honeygo Blvd
  Perry Hall, MD 21128
• North Point Public Library
  1716 Merritt Blvd
  Dundalk, MD 21222

Find early voting locations and hours.

For more information, call the State Board of Elections at 1-800-222-8683, or Baltimore County Board of Elections at 410-887-5700. Or visit www.elections.state.md.us.

Overseas, absentee voting

Absentee Voting Week runs through Oct. 4, and the Federal Voting Assistance Program "encourages all service members, spouses, voting-age family members and overseas civilians who haven't already done so to visit the program's website, register to vote and request an absentee ballot," according to an article by the American Forces Press Service.

"It's important to note that military voters and their families can certainly participate in this election," Mitchell said. "It's not too late to vote."

Deadlines for states vary, but none are before 30 days before the election, it states.

Visit the article for more information.