After a week of early voting and opportunities to mail in a ballot, Montgomery County voters will have their final chance to make their voices heard in the primary election Tuesday.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Voters can find their polling place through the lookup tool on the Maryland State Board of Elections website.
Races on the ballot include those for U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, the Montgomery County Board of Education and judges for Montgomery County Circuit Court. Check out more on how to make a plan to vote here and find information on the candidates in the MoCo360 Voters Guide.
Independent voters can participate in the primaries for Montgomery County Board of Education and judges for Montgomery County Circuit Court. Registered Democrats and Republicans can also vote in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives primaries.
Montgomery County Board of Elections President David Naimon told MoCo360 in a recent interview that it is very important that voters double-check their polling place. It could have changed from previous years. Also, while voters could cast a ballot at any early voting site, they have to cast a ballot at their assigned precinct.
Any voter who shows up to the wrong polling place will have the option of leaving and going to their correct polling place, or filling out a provisional ballot.
If you missed the April 23 advanced voter registration deadline, same-day registration is allowed, which is in effect during the eight days of early voting at early voting centers or on the day of the primary election at your polling place. However, you may be directed to file a provisional ballot. If you’re already registered to vote, you cannot change your party affiliation at same-day registration.
If you choose to take advantage of the same-day registration option, you must have a document that proves where you live, such as a Maryland driver’s license, an ID card, a change of address card, or a paycheck, bank statement, utility bill, or other government document with your name and address. You can vote immediately after registering.
All mail-in and web-delivered ballots must be mailed or deposited in any election drop box by 8 p.m. on Tuesday. If you applied for a mail-in or web-delivered ballot but decide you would rather vote in person, you will have to fill out a provisional ballot so officials can ensure you only voted once. Naimon suggested that as an alternative, you can fill out your mail-in ballot and turn it in at a drop-box at any polling place if you don’t want to mail it.
Requests for mail-in and web-delivered ballots closed last week. According to Maryland State Board of Elections Data, 134,779 county residents requested a mail-in ballot. As of 6 p.m. on Sunday, 23,149 of those had been returned and accepted.
As of the end of early voting Thursday evening, more than 20,360 county voters had voted at an early voting center. Montgomery County is home to more than 680,000 eligible registered voters, according to the board.
