Voter registration deadline looming for Maryland primary election

With June underway, the deadline to register for the primary election is rapidly approaching.

To vote in the upcoming primary, Maryland residents who are eligible to vote but are not yet registered, which includes 17-year-olds who will be 18 on or before the general election in November, must register by 9 p.m. on Tuesday, June 5. This date is also the deadline to change party affiliation, update an address and request an alternate polling place, according to a news release from the Carroll County Board of Elections.

“One of the most important things about close of registration is people need to focus on their party registration,” said Katherine Berry, the county’s election director.

Any voter who is unaffiliated or in party other than Republican or Democrat will only get a nonpartisan ballot, which allows them to vote only for the Carroll County Public Schools Board of Education, she said. Anyone who wants to vote for any of the other positions will have to be registered as a Democrat or Republican by 9 p.m. Tuesday, she said.

Carroll County residents with a Maryland driver’s license or MVA-issued ID may register to vote, change their address, or change their party affiliation online at voterservices.elections.maryland.gov/OnlineVoterRegistration, according to the release.

Voter registration applications are also available throughout Maryland at the following locations:

Paper voter registration applications must be hand-delivered or mailed to the Carroll County Board of Elections, according to the release. Hand-delivered applications must be received by the Carroll County Board of Elections by 9 p.m. June 5, and mailed application must be postmarked by June 5, according to the release.

An application by mail can also be requested by calling 1-800-222-8683 or can be downloaded and printed at: elections.maryland.gov/voter_registration/application.html.

Berry said gubernatorial elections are important, especially because some of the local races will be essentially determined in the primary election, though there often isn’t a high turnout during primaries, she said.

“Historically we see between a 20 and 30 percent turnout in a primary,” she said.

In the 2014 gubernatorial primary, Berry said Carroll saw a 25 percent turnout.

As of May 31, there were 121,942 active voters and 7,138 inactive voters, according to the latest voter registration report posted on the Carroll County Board of Elections website. An inactive voter is someone who in the last four years had mail that was sent to their registered address returned but the Board of Elections doesn’t have documentation from them saying they’ve moved, Berry said. Inactive or active has nothing to do with how often a person voted, she said.

Berry said sample ballots went out to registered voters last week. “They should start receiving them this weekend and early next week,” she added.

The 2018 Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, June 26, and the general election is Tuesday, Nov. 6. Beginning on the second Thursday before the election through the Thursday before the election, voters can vote in person at the designated early voting centers in the county. For the primary, those dates are Thursday, June 14, through Thursday, June 21.

Carroll will have two early voting centers this year after a record number of county residents turned out to cast early ballots in 2016. Voters in Carroll County will be able to cast ballots at either the Westminster Senior Activities Center, 125 Stoner Ave. in Westminster, or the South Carroll Swim Club, 1900 W. Liberty Road in Winfield.

This year’s election includes seats for all five commissioner districts, the State’s Attorney, the Clerk of the Circuit Court, Register of Wills, Judge of the Orphans' Court, Sheriff, Democrat and Republican Central Committee, Board of Education, and the Maryland General Assembly. For Carroll County Times coverage of the candidates, including coverage of forums, visit www.carrollcountytimes.com/elections.

Early voting locations and hours, as well as additional election-related dates and information are available online at elections.maryland.gov/voting/early_voting.html.

For more information contact the Carroll County Board of Election at 410-386-2080 or the State Board of Elections at 1-800-222-VOTE (8683) or visit elections.maryland.gov.