Deadline to Request Maryland Absentee Ballots Approaches

By Veena Trehan
Capital News Service
Friday, Feb. 1, 2008

Related Links: FAQs on Absentee Voting for the 2008 Presidential Elections from the Maryland State Board of Elections The Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies poll from January Special Report: Elections '08

WASHINGTON - Just a few days remain for Maryland residents to request absentee ballots to vote in the upcoming presidential primary.

Voters must complete the application by Tuesday in order to choose their party's nominees for president and Congress or vote for other officials in the Feb. 12 election.

This year offers absentee voters a chance to exert real influence over Maryland's election results. Both the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries are hotly contested.

A statewide poll released in January by Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies showed Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois beating Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York in the Democratic primary, 36 percent to 33 percent, with 17 percent giving the nod to former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina. Edwards has since dropped out of the race.

That same poll showed Sen. John McCain of Arizona leading the Republican field with 23 percent --eight points ahead of the two second-place finishers, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani. Guiliani has since dropped out of the race. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas trailed in the poll with 13 percent, 12 percent and 9 percent, respectively. Thompson has since dropped out of the race.

The race in Maryland's 4th Congressional District, a rematch of 2006's primary with Rep. Al Wynn and Donna Edwards that was determined by 3-point margin, is again considered a tossup.

In the general election of 2006, absentee ballots reached a record high due to state recommendations by politicians that voters avoid potentially faulty electronic voting machines. In that election, they were 8.8 percent of the overall vote.

More typically, in primaries, they make up 3 percent to 5 percent of the total vote.

Absentee ballots can be obtained by calling the Maryland State Board of Elections or by printing them from its Web site, www.elections.state.md.us.

Mailed applications must be received by 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 5, and faxed applications must be received by 11:49 p.m. that day.

The absentee ballot must be postmarked by Feb. 12 and received not later than Feb. 22. People with disabilities can get help from eligible individuals who complete a portion of the absentee ballot application.

Voters who need assistance picking up or delivering their absentee ballot can complete a "Designation of Agent" form provided by the Board of Elections. Voters that have an "ID Required" stamp on the return absentee ballot envelope are required to submit identification with their absentee ballot.

Between Feb. 6 and until the polls close at 8 p.m. on Feb. 12, voters can complete a "Late Application for Absentee Ballot" in-person at the board of elections. For more information, voters should contact their local board of elections or the Maryland State Board of Elections.

Copyright © 2008 University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism

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