*Making a voting plan. Ask your friends/family members/community members if they have a voting plan.
Mail-in ballots can still be requested until October 20th. If you have a Maryland driver’s license or ID number you can request a ballot online.
Otherwise, fill out this ballot application form and take it to the board of elections, or scan and send in an email, or fax to the board of elections:
Baltimore City Board of Elections:
Charles L. Benton Building
417 E. Fayette Street, Room 129
Baltimore, MD 21202
http://boe.baltimorecity.gov
410-396-5550
Fax: 410-727-1775
election.judge@baltimorecity.gov
Local Boards of Election addresses and contact information
*Please complete and return your mail-in ballot as soon as possible and follow the instructions carefully.
*If you plan to vote in person, you are encouraged to do so during early voting if possible to reduce crowding on election day.
*With an unprecedented number of absentee and mail-in ballots this election, we will not get the final results on election day as we have come to expect. Set your expectations now to see results around mid-late November.
Voter Registration
The deadline for online and mail-in registration has passed, however, in-person registration is available during early voting at an early vote center or on election day at a vote center.
Voter Look-up
This tool can be used to:
- Check if you are registered
- Request a duplicate voter registration card
- Find out where to vote: early vote centers, election-day vote centers, and dropbox locations are shown on a series of maps
- Contact information for your local board of elections
- View a sample ballot
- Check the status of your mail-in or provisional ballot
Mail-in Ballot Requests
Everyone is eligible for mail-in voting this election. You must request a ballot. Ballots will not be sent automatically like they were for the primary. There is no difference between a mail-in ballot and an absentee ballot in Maryland. Everyone is encouraged to request and return ballots as soon as possible.
Online registration must be completed by 11:59 pm on Tuesday, October 20th.
PDF mail-in ballot request form:
The deadline for mail-in ballot requests is Tuesday, October 20, 2020. The request form must ARRIVE by this date. The paper request form can be:
- Printed & mailed
- Must arrive at your local board of elections by October 20
Sent by email or fax to your local board of elections
- Must be received by 11:59 pm on October 20 by board of elections
Taken in person to your local board of elections (call ahead!)
- Must be at the board of elections office by 5 pm on October 20 (call ahead to check their hours and you may need to make an appointment due to COVID restrictions)
Frequently asked questions about mail-in voting
Voting Mail-In Ballot
Ballots should be completed and returned as soon as possible. Ballot must be completed with BLACK INK (please use a ballpoint pen as others may bleed through) and the OATH ON THE ENVELOPE MUST BE SIGNED.
Mail-In Ballots can be:
- Mailed to your local board of elections. It must be postmarked by November 3rd and must arrive by 10 am on November 13th.
- Taken to a drop box by 8 pm November 3rd.
- Taken in person to the board of elections by 8 pm November 3rd. May also be taken in person to an early vote center or election day vote center when polls are open.
Drop Boxes
Mail-in ballots can be mailed or taken in person to the local board of elections, or returned to a drop box any time until 8 pm on November 3rd. Some drop boxes are open now; others will open around October 17th.
Voting In Person
In-person registration and voting will be available during early voting and on election day. If you need to register, or it is your first time voting, bring proof of where you live. This can be any one of the following:
- MVA-issued driver’s license, ID card, or change of address card
- Payckeck, bank statement, utility bill or a government document with name and current address
- If you did not bring one of these, you can still vote with a provisional ballot.
- Don’t worry if you forget to bring one of these. You can still vote with a provisional ballot and it will be counted!
- More information about provisional ballots
- Frequently asked questions about voting in person
Early Voting
Early voting is October 26-November 2, including Saturday and Sunday. Polls are open 7:00am-8:00pm. Voters in line at 8:00 will be able to vote.
***Voting locations for this election are different from the usual polling places. Please look up where you will go to vote in advance. You can go to any early vote center in your jurisdiction.
● List of early vote centers in Maryland
Election Day
General Election: November 3, 2020. Polls are open 7:00am-8:00pm. If you are in line at 8:00 you will be able to vote.
***Voting locations for this election are different from the usual polling places. Please look up where you will go to vote in advance. You can go to any vote center in your jurisdiction.
More information can be found here; scroll to the bottom for links to sample ballots by county: https://elections.maryland.gov/elections/2020/index.html
If you have any questions you can:
- Contact your local board of elections
- Email Anna Britton at gotvwithswcos@gmail.com
- Call or text 410-844-4859
If you want to get involved here are a few volunteer opportunities:
Get connected to Get Out The Vote (GOTV) with SWCOS by sending an email to gotvwithswcos@gmail.com or filling out this capacity building interest form
- Join one of the Social Work Votes phone banks
- Volunteer with No Boundaries Coalition for data gathering, data processing, or canvassing
Volunteer with Out for Justice to man phones, share links, educate people, donate
Get Out The Vote (GOTV) with SWCOS
The GOTV with Social Work Community Outreach Services (SWCOS) team is a growing group of community members focused on building capacity to promote civic awareness, education, and action as a means to disrupt Socially Engineered Trauma (SET).
GOTV with SWCOS was started in 2019-2020 from students who were placed within SWCOS as their field placement with UMB SSW. These students were moved to create an intentional campaign grounded in civic awareness, education, and action as a means to disrupt Socially Engineered Trauma (SET). This desire came from an eagerness to wrestle openly and collectively with the points listed below.
- A social work practice grounded in the SHARP framework, anti-racism, capacity building, and community.
- Systems of oppression as a result of white supremacy that maintain the societal need/desire for social workers.
- The responsibility of being a part of an anchor institution in Baltimore City.
- Intricacies of local & state government beyond the legislative session.
- The FALSE dichotomy of Macro Social Work & Clinical Social Work
- The FALSE notion that voting is the only way to engage in advocacy, civics, and politics.
We encourage those who are supporting these initiatives to read and take the time to reflect upon:
● Socially-Engineered Trauma and a New Social Work Pedagogy: Socioeducation as a Critical Foundation of Social Work Practice by Dr. Wendy E. Shaia, David O. Avruch, Katherine Green, and Geneen M. Godsey
● SHARP: A Framework for Addressing the Contexts of Poverty and Oppression During Service Provision in the United States by Dr. Wendy E. Shaia
Capacity Building Efforts & Initiatives
- Recognizing, supporting, and promoting current community-based initiatives focused on political advocacy (See public calendar)
- Sharing resources and educating each other about the importance of being civically aware, involved, and invested as a means to disrupt Socially Engineered Trauma (SET).
- Training community members to become Voter Registration Volunteers as well as providing resources that promote civic awareness, education, and action.
- Supporting and promoting a number of consciousness-raising events that focus on a range of topics relating to Civics, Politics, and Socially Engineered Trauma (SET).
Ready to join the team?
Lets connect and continue building capacity!
Email: gotvwithswcos@gmail.com
Fill out this capacity building interest form
Instagram: @gotv_with_swcos
Twitter: @gotvwithswcos