Nonpartisan Election Protection Assistance Available for Voters

“If you’re eligible to participate in this primary, please make sure you vote.”

Common Cause Maryland reminds voters that “early voting” in the upcoming primary elections begins tomorrow, Thursday, July 7 and continues through Thursday, July 14. Early voting locations will be open from 7am to 8pm each day, and voters may cast their ballots at any early voting location in the county that they live in. A list of early voting locations for the primary election is available at

• https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2022/2022_Early%20Voting_Centers.pdf (English) and
• https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2022/2022_Early_Voting_Centers_Spanish.pdf (en español).

This year’s primary elections were delayed by the redistricting process. Primary Election Day will be Tuesday, July 19, 2022.

In the statewide primary, only voters who are registered with either the Republican or Democratic party may vote – and they may only vote in their party’s primary. Minor party and unaffiliated voters cannot vote in the statewide primary.

However, the city of Baltimore is holding nonpartisan primaries for the first time using the same schedule as the state primary. Minor party and unaffiliated voters in Baltimore may vote in the city primary only.

All voters participating in the primaries may choose to vote by mail, and all voters eligible to participate in the primary will be mailed a ballot request form. Mail ballot requests can be submitted online at https://voterservices.elections.maryland.gov/onlinemailinrequest/InstructionsStep1 or can be returned by mail until Tuesday, July 12. After that deadline has passed, voters may pick up mail ballots in-person at their local elections office.

Mail ballots for the primary may be returned via ballot drop boxes. A list of drop boxes in each county is available at

• https://elections.maryland.gov/voting/documents/Primary_Ballot_Drop_Box_List.pdf (English) and
• https://elections.maryland.gov/voting/documents/Primary_Ballot_Drop_Box_List_Span.pdf (en español).

Mail ballots for the primary must be postmarked or deposited in a ballot drop box before 8pm on Tuesday, July 19, 2022. More information is available at https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2022/index.html#mail_in_ballot.

Marylanders who are not currently registered to vote may register during the early voting period or on election day, and vote the same day. Eligible Marylanders must provide proof of where they live, such as their MVA-issued license, ID card, or change of address card, or a paycheck, bank statement, utility bill, or other government document with their name and address. Voters who are already registered to vote may update or correct their name and address, but may not change their party affiliation to vote in a different party’s primary. Voters who update their registration at the polling place will have to vote a provisional ballot. More information is available at https://elections.maryland.gov/voter_registration/index.html

Voters who vote in-person on Primary Election Day must do so at their assigned polling places. Polls will be open from 7am to 8pm on Tuesday, July 19.

About 15,000 Maryland voters were initially assigned to the wrong precinct because of administrative errors related to the reprecincting process. Elections officials are contacting those voters to provide corrected information – including new, corrected ballots for those who had already requested mail ballots.

Voters who plan to vote in-person on Primary Election Day are urged to allow sufficient time to accommodate delays at polling places and the possibility they may need to go to another location to vote.

Voters who have questions or problems can contact the nonpartisan Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE. Started in the wake of the 2000 presidential election, the program is now run by a nonpartisan coalition of more than 100 organizations. It has more than 40,000 volunteers nationwide, including more than 1,100 in Maryland. Hotline assistance is also available in Spanish at 888-VE-Y-VOTA; in Asian languages at 888-API-VOTE; and in Arabic at 844-YALLA-US.

Statement of Common Cause Maryland Executive Director Joanne Antoine

Our government ‘by the people’ is stronger and more representative when more people vote.

That principle is just as true for primary elections as for the general elections. Primaries, of course, determine the candidates we will choose between in November – so we urge all voters who are eligible to vote in the primaries to have their voices heard by casting ballots.

Marylanders have choices about how to participate in this primary: by in-person early voting, by mail ballots, or in-person at their assigned polling place on Election Day.

Any voter who needs assistance can call or text the Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE. The nonpartisan Election Protection program has been helping voters for more than two decades – and voters should take advantage of that expertise, regardless of what primary you’re voting in.

If you’re eligible to participate in this primary, please make sure you vote.