The Maryland State Board of Elections is advising voters who have not cast their ballots by mail or through early voting to make a plan for Election Day on Nov. 3, including knowing their polling location, planning when to vote, and preparing to wait in line.
There will be 321 in-person voting centers across Maryland open on Election Day, including 24 in Baltimore City.
The Baltimore City voting centers are:
• Academy for College and Career Exploration School, 427 1300 W. 36th Street
• Achievement Academy at Harbor City High School 413, 2201 Pinewood Avenue
• Baltimore City Community College’s (BCCC) Gymnasium, 2901 Liberty Heights Avenue
• Barclay Elem School 54, 2900 Barclay Street
• Benjamin Franklin High School at Masonville Cove 239, 1201 Cambria Street
• Carver Vocational-Technical High School 454, 2201 Presstman Street
• Cross Country at Northwestern School 247, 6900 Park Heights Avenue
• Dickey Hill Elementary/Middle School 201, 5025 Dickey Hill Road
• Digital Harbor High School 416, 1100 Covington Street
• Edmondson High School 400, 501 N Athol Avenue
• Forest Park High School 406, 3701 Eldorado Avenue
• Holabird Academy 229, 1500 Imla Street
• Leith Walk Elementary/Mid School 245, 5915 Glennor Road
• Morgan State University’s Hurt Gymnasium, 1700 E. Cold Spring Lane
• Mount Pleasant Church and Ministries, 6000 Radecke Avenue
• New Era Academy, 2700 Seamon Avenue
• Oriole Park at Camden Yards’ Dempsey Restaurant, 333 W. Camden Street
• Patterson High School 405, 100 Kane Street
• Paul Laurence Dunbar High School 414, 1400 Orleans Street
• Reach! Partnership School 341, 2555 Harford Road
• Renaissance Academy 433, 1301 McCulloh Street
• Southeast Anchor Library, 3601 Eastern Avenue
• Violetville Elementary/Middle School 226, 1207 Pine Heights Avenue
• Western High School 407, 4600 Falls Road
Voting centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and any eligible voter who is in line by 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote.
Elections officials said the best time to vote is between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., which are considered “off-peak hours.” But they encouraged any voter to bring a folding chair, snacks and water in case they have to wait in long lines.
“It is imperative that every eligible Marylander have the opportunity to exercise their right to vote,” Maryland State Board of Elections Administrator Linda Lamone said in a statement. “Election officials across the state are prepared to keep vote centers open as long as it takes for voters who were in line by 8 p.m. to cast their ballots.”
Voters must wear a mask to enter a voting center. Poll workers will offer masks to any voters who do not have one.
Voters who are unable to wear a mask due to a medical condition or disability—or who refuse to wear one–will be able to fill out a provisional ballot outside of the voting center.
Poll workers may limit the number of voters allowed inside of a voting center at one time to ensure social distancing.
Voters can check the status of their ballot on the state’s online ballot tracker.
Officials said some ballots will not appear on the tracker as counted until after Election Day, but all properly cast ballots will be counted in the election’s official results.
Mail-in ballots that were properly completed and postmarked by Nov. 3 will be accepted until Nov. 13.
Likewise, ballots that were placed in official drop boxes by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 will be accepted, but they may not show on the online tracker as counted until after Election Day, depending on the overall volume of ballots and when they were submitted.
“Some voters will understandably be concerned that a ballot they submitted prior to Election Day is not showing as counted on the ballot tracker by November 3,” Lamone said. “Marylanders should be assured that, if a ballot was properly completed and submitted by the deadline, it will be counted in the election’s official results. While media outlets may ‘call’ the election on election night, that determination is not based on an official count of ballots received. Due to the nature of this election, counting will continue for some time after Election Day.”
After voting centers close on Election Day, elections officials will release results from early voting that happened from Oct. 26 to Nov. 2 and results from mail-in ballots that were counted prior to Election Day.
Later on Election Night, officials will release the results from in-person Election Day voting.
Officials will release updated results each day that ballots are counted after Election Day.
Officials will begin counting provisional ballots on Nov. 12 and release those results when they are counted.
Voters can register to vote on Election Day at in-person voting centers by bringing proof of their place of residence, which can include a Motor Vehicle Administration-issued driver’s license, identification card or change of address card, or a paycheck, bank statement, utility bill or other government document that includes the voter’s name and new address.
