Casting Your Ballot
General Elections
Election Day is the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November in even-numbered years.
Party Primaries
For this Presidential Election year, Maryland's Primary Elections for President and Vice President has been changed to the first Tuesday in April. During Gubernatorial Election years, the Primary for State and Local offices is the second Tuesday after the first Monday in September.
The legislature sets primary dates, which are subject to change.
Polling Places
On Election Day, the polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To ensure your entire ballot counts, you must always vote at your assigned polling place. Contact the Board of Elections if you are unsure of your polling location, or go to our polling place locator.
How Do I Vote?
Howard County has a Touch-Screen Voting System. The Accuvote-TS System is used at all voting locations and offers the following features:
- Touch screen voting
- Intelligent voter card technology
- Electronic ballot access
- Screen "magnify" feature
- Results securely stored using world-class encryption techniques
- On-screen write-in capability (General Election only)
- Full accessibility for the disabled
To learn more about the voting systems in use in Maryland visit www.elections.state.md.us/voting_system