ANNAPOLIS (Sept. 14, 2020) – The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) notified state election officials nationwide last week that it was mailing postcards to the public regarding vote by mail options in the 2020 General Election. Maryland election officials first learned of and saw the postcard on September 11 after it had been mailed.
Portions of the postcard message are inconsistent with Maryland vote by mail guidelines. For instance, do not wait until 15 days before Election Day, November 3, to request a mail-in ballot. A voter’s request for a mail-in ballot in Maryland must be received by their local board of elections no later than October 20. If you request a ballot by mail, plan to mail your ballot application by October 15 to ensure that it will be delivered by October 20. There is no need to wait. Submit your application for a mail-in ballot at your earliest convenience.
Additionally, no postage is required to return a ballot that a voter received by mail. If you choose to have the mail-in ballot mailed to you, it will come with a pre-paid postage return envelope. If you choose to have your ballot emailed to you, you will need to print your ballot and pay the postage to return it.
You may also choose to take your voted ballot to a ballot drop box in the county where you live. There will be about 270 ballot drop off boxes throughout the State. The locations of the ballot drop off boxes will be posted at elections.maryland.gov/2020 soon and will be included with mail-in ballot packets.
We encourage Maryland voters to verify accurate election information for Maryland at elections.maryland.gov/2020.
