Register to Vote this Election Year

If you weren’t already aware, a pretty heated election is coming in hot this November. Every single even-numbered year is an election year here in America either at the local, state, or federal levels of government. Registering and participating in voting is incredibly important to make your voice heard for the future of our country. 

Most of our very own seniors will be eligible to vote this year! Per the Maryland State Board of Elections (MSBoe), in order to be eligible to register to vote in the state of Maryland, an applicant must be a U.S. citizen, reside in or be a longtime resident of the state of Maryland, and your eighteenth birthday must be on or before this year’s election day to vote. A voter can also register as a member of a political party (the two major ones are the Democrat and Republican parties) and vote for a nominee in party primaries as long as their eighteenth birthday is on or before the general election in November. 

New student voters can use Maryland’s Online Voter Registration System or submit a voter registration application to the local or state board of elections. New voters can also register to vote during early voting (May 2-9 for primaries in Maryland this election cycle and October 24-31 for the general November election) or on election day (May 14th for primaries, November 5th for general). 

Go to an early voting center in Howard County if you remain local next year. If living on a college campus, you can choose your residential address as the most recent childhood home address or use your college/dormitory address, but it must be your primary residence. You can also go to your assigned election day polling place and bring a document that proves where you live. For a new voter to prove their legal, legitimate residency and right to vote, bring an MVA-issued license, ID card, change of address card, paycheck, bank statement, utility bill, or other government document with your name and new address.

You don’t have to go physically in person on election day in order to vote in Maryland. Mail-in ballots can be requested through the USPS (hence the name ‘mail-in’ ballots) and dropped off at a designated polling station or box. More information about voting can be found at the state of Maryland and Howard County Board of Elections and Voting government websites (elections.maryland.gov or the BOE site for whatever other current state residence) for further information.

Now, just what exactly are you voting for this coming November 5th? There will be a presidential election to decide who controls the White House, one of Maryland’s two senate seats (the upper chamber of Congress), and all Maryland House of Representative candidates for the House (the lower chamber of Congress) are up for grabs. At the state level, three of seven justices with expiring terms for the Maryland State Supreme Court and the subordinate intermediate appellate courts are either retiring or running for re-election. Additionally, a major referendum/ballot measure dubbed the “Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment” regarding safeguarding reproductive rights is being slated for that same November 5th. It’s a big year to have your voice heard!