Important Elections Deadlines Coming Next Month
Important deadlines for the upcoming 2012 Presidential General Election are approaching. The deadline to register to vote, update address information, and request a polling place change is 9 p.m,, Tuesday, Oct. 16.
To vote in the upcoming election, Maryland residents who are eligible to vote but are not yet registered – including 17-year-olds who will be 18 years old or older on or before the Nov. 6 General Election – must register to vote. Eligible individuals can now register to vote or update address information at www.elections.state.md.us. Applications can also be hand-delivered or mailed.
Online applications must be submitted by 9 p.m. on Oct.16, and hand-delivered applications must be received by the St. Mary’s County Board of Elections by 9 p.m. on the same day. A mailed application must be postmarked by Oct. 16. This is also the deadline for registered voters to update address information to the St. Mary’s County Board of Elections.
Paper voter registration applications are available at the following locations: 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, and State Board of Elections.
Call 1-800-222-8683 to request an application by mail or go to www.elections.state.md.us (click “Voter Registration Information” under Quick Links).
Most of Maryland’s polling places are accessible to voters with disabilities. An elderly voter or a voter with a disability who is assigned to an inaccessible polling place may ask to be reassigned to an accessible polling place. This request must be submitted in writing by 9 pm on Tuesday, Oct. 16. The form to request a new polling place is available at www.elections.state.md.us (type “polling place reassignment” in the Search field). On receipt of a timely request, the St. Mary’s County Board of Elections will determine if there is an accessible polling place with the same ballot as the voter’s home precinct and notify the voter of the status of his or her request.
On the State Board of Elections’ website, a voter can also verify his or her voter registration status and find out if his or her assigned polling place is accessible. To find this information, a voter can visit www.elections.state.md.us and click on the “Look up your voter registration” box.
The 2012 Presidential General Election is Tuesday, Nov. 6. Beginning the second Saturday before the election through the Thursday before the election, voters can vote in person at the Early Voting site, located inside the Potomac Building, 23115 Leonard Hall Drive Room 14, Leonardtown, MD 20650. Early voting locations and hours are also available at www.elections.state.md.us (click “Early Voting” under Quick Links).
For more information, voters may contact the State Board of Elections at 1-800-222-VOTE (8683) or St. Mary’s County Board of Elections at 301-475-7844 ext. 1100 or visit www.elections.state.md.us.
Source: St. Mary’s County Public Information Office
