If you’ve been hearing disturbing things coming out of the White House about the November election, and about the Postal Service — you have good reason to be concerned! Many of us are worried about the dangers of voting in person (but see below), and are considering voting with an Absentee Ballot. Note that “Absentee” and “Mail-in” are synonymous here — and when you apply, you do not need to explain why you want one.
We want every vote to count — which means that yours has to be counted! If you don’t want to vote in person, here is what makes sense to us now:
- Apply NOW for an Absentee Ballot. The MD Board of Elections says that they will be mailing Absentee Ballot applications to all of us by the end of the month. Don’t wait — apply online now: https://voterservices.elections.maryland.gov/OnlineVoterRegistration/InstructionsStep1. There are multiple steps — and have your drivers’ license handy when you start.
- If you wait until you receive your application form from the Board of Elections, send it back sooner rather than later. The deadline for requesting a mail-in ballot is October 20.
- When you receive your ballot, and you really want to mail it in — send it in before October 15 — the Postal Service is likely to be swamped! The Board of Elections does state that they will honor any ballots received in the mail up to November 13, as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.
- Much better to deliver it in person — and each county will have a number of secure ballot drop-off boxes deployed for you to do this. These boxes are to be deployed 30 days before Election Day, and ballots will be collected from these boxes each day. In Kent County, they will both be in Chestertown — at the Board of Elections (135 Dixon Drive) and at the Public Library.
- If you prefer to vote in person, do so early! Early voting will take place at the Chestertown Public Library from October 26 through November 2.
- Finally, if you really want to vote on Election Day, be aware that there will only be three polling stations open in Kent County: Rock Hall, Chestertown, and Millington. Apparently you will be able to vote at any of these three locations — but wear a mask.
Please share the above information with everyone you know!