Early voting takes place July 7th to 14th.
Frederick, Md. (KM) – Maryland’s Gubernatorial Primary Election Day is fast approaching, and the Frederick County Board of Elections is getting ready. Election Director Barbara Wagner says her staff is working hard at all hours to make sure it’s a seamless experience for voters.
“Weekends, nights to prepare the best election ever,” she says. “Accurate, safe, fair elections is what we’re all working toward.”
Primary Election Day is Tuesday, July 19th, 2022.
The deadline for those registering to vote for the first time, or changing their address or party affiliation, is Tuesday, June 28th, if they’re registering by mail. But if you miss that day, Wagner says you have another opportunity to sign up. “If you’re not registered to vote at this time, and you want to register to vote, we do same day registration and address change at early voting,” she says.
Early voting takes place from July 7th through the 14th at the Talley Recreation Center in Frederick, the Urbana and Thurmont Regional Libraries and Middletown Primary School. The hours are from 7:00 AM until 8:00 PM, including Saturday and Sunday.
Voters can also request mail-in ballots. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot by mail or fax is July 12th. If you want a mail-in ballot sent to you electronically, the deadline to request that is July 15th.
“If you take it to the post office, it has to be postmarked by 8:00 PM of July 19th,” says Wagner. “Anything after that we will not take. It’s too late.”
She also says voters can drop off their mail-in ballots at drop box locations around Frederick County. They’re located at Middletown Primary School, the County Election Office, Brunswick Middle School, Catoctin High School, Oakdale High School, the Urbana Regional Library, the William Talley Recreation Center and Governor Thomas Johnson High School. Wagner says the drop boxes are emptied each day by two individuals of different political parties traveling in a county government vehicle.
So far, the County Elections Offices has received 16,000 applications for mail-in ballots, Wagner says.
As it was during the 2020 elections, Wagner says it will be a few days after election day July 19th when the final votes are tallied and the results are certified. “The election night results will be the results for early voting and election night,” she says. “We are not able to start canvassing mail-in ballots until the 21st of July by law.”
With the election about one month away, Wagner says the Elections Office could use more poll workers. “They are our eyes and ears on the ground at these polling stations,” she says. “We’re having 63 polling stations open on election day.” For more information on being a poll worker or other election questions, , call 301-600-VOTE (8683) or go on line to FrederickCountyMD.gov/VOTE.
By Kevin McManus