Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, just three weeks away from tomorrow. While it is not too late to register to vote, request a mail-in ballot, or learn about the candidates appearing on that ballot, it soon will be, with one important deadline happening on Oct. 13, 2026.
Baltimore Fishbowl is here with a rundown on Maryland elections and what residents need to know to participate in our democracy. Readers, please forgive your author’s geeking out over these details, as she has two degrees in American history and taught 8th-grade civics for years. This is her happy place.
Before doing anything else, voters should make sure they are registered to vote. Even if they have registered to vote before, ensuring their registration is still active, and their polling location has not moved is critical. To register and/or check one’s registration, go to the Maryland government’s elections website, Vote! MD.
IMPORTANT DEADLINES
Marylanders who want to register to vote online or by mail must do so by Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. Click here to register to vote online, and click here to register to vote by mail.
Voters who wish to request a mail-in ballot delivered by mail or fax have until Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. Their request must be received (not just mailed) or submitted online by this date. Click here to request a mail-in ballot.
If a voter wants to request a mail-in ballot online, the deadline to do so is Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. Click here to request a mail-in ballot online.
Early voting takes place from Thursday, Oct. 22 through Thursday, Oct. 29. Polling locations are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and as long as voters are in line by 8 p.m., they will be permitted to vote. To find one’s early voting location (they are not necessarily the same as one’s regular election day polling place), click this link.
Tuesday, Nov. 3 is the final day for voting. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and voters are permitted to register in-person. Click here to find your polling place.
The deadline for returning a mail-in ballot is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. There are two ways to return a mail-in ballot.
- By mail: ballot must be postmarked by or before Nov. 3. It is recommended to fill it out and return it as soon as possible, rather than waiting until Nov. 3.
- By hand: voters can hand-deliver their ballot to an approved drop box or local board of elections by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Click here for drop box locations. Most county government websites also have maps with drop box locations.
CANDIDATES AND OFFICES ON THE 2026 BALLOT
ON THE FEDERAL LEVEL:
All voters in Maryland will vote for their representative in the U.S. House of Representatives, who serve two-year terms. Maryland has eight districts representing it in the House. Each district has either two or three candidates on their ballot this year, depending on if a third party or write-in candidate made it through the primary process in the spring. Executive editor David Nitkin spoke with Maryland’s most senior representative, Steny Hoyer, and most junior representative, Sarah Elfreth, on a recent episode of the podcast, Maryland Now. It is a great way to get a sense of issues being addressed that impact Marylanders in the House of Representatives.
Neither U.S. Senator in Maryland is up for re-election this year, as they are both in the midst of serving their six-year terms. Sen. Chris Van Hollen was elected to his second Senate term in 2022, and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks was elected to her first Senate term in 2024. Their next elections will be in 2028 and 2030, respectively.
ON THE STATE LEVEL:
All voters in Maryland will vote for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general of Maryland, and Maryland comptroller, all of whom serve four-year terms.
Four candidates appear on the ballot for governor and lieutenant governor, who appear as a single ticket in Maryland elections. Candidates for governor include incumbent Wes Moore (D), Dan Cox (R), Andy Ellis (Green), and Cathy White (Working Class Party). The four candidates on the ballot for lieutenant governor: incumbent Aruna Miller (D), Rob Krop (R), Owen Silverman Andrews (Green), and Cathy Permut (Working Class Party).
For attorney general of Maryland, James Rutledge (R) is challenging incumbent Anthony Brown (D). For Maryland Comptroller, Sonya Dunn (R) is challenging incumbent Brooke E. Lierman (D).
Marylanders will also elect their state senator and state representatives for their district. The Maryland State Senate and House of Delegates make up the Maryland General Assembly, the body that makes laws for the state. Terms for both state senators and delegates are four years long.
There are 47 legislative districts in Maryland, and each is represented in the Maryland General Assembly by one state senator and three delegates: 47 senators and 141 delegates, 188 members in total. The Maryland page of Ballotpedia lists each candidate for all 47 districts.
BALLOT QUESTIONS
ON THE STATE LEVEL:
There are three questions on this year’s ballot that are the same for all of Maryland’s voters because they impact everyone in the state. These are a brief summary of the proposed amendments to Maryland’s constitution.
Question 1: If passed, the state constitution would be amended to require the governor to included money in the proposed state budget to pay for agreements between the state and its employees. Agreements might include changes to wages, hours, health benefits, and more.
Question 2: If passed, temporary substitute appointments to the Commission on Judicial Disabilities would be permitted when a member is recused or disqualified, or when a member’s term expires.
Question 3: This concerns redistricting in the state and is the subject of considerable controversy. In August 2026 the General Assembly held a two-day special session and passed a constitutional amendment that essentially ensures districts can be drawn in a way that favors one political party over another. Currently, seven of the eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are held by Democrats and one is held by a Republican. The amendment was immediately challenged in separate lawsuits, then overturned on appeal to the Supreme Court of Maryland. Rather than strike the question from the ballot, however, legislators were permitted to rewrite it in the form that now appears on the ballot.
ON THE LOCAL LEVEL:
Local elections include offices like city and county state’s attorney, register of wills, sheriff, school board member, circuit court judge, and orphans court judge. The Maryland page of Ballotpedia lists each candidate for all available open seats.
Because each county’s and city’s candidates are different on the local level, voters in different jurisdictions will have different local candidates appearing on their ballots. To see one’s sample ballot, voters can click this link.
In addition to local office holders being elected, each municipality has its own ballot measures and questions impacting them, usually in the form of “lettered” questions (“Question A”, “Question B”, and so on). This is why it is important for voters to review their specific ballots for their locations before heading to the voting booth for each election.
