It’s Primary Election Day

Tuesday is primary election day in Maryland, and here’s the skinny on where to vote, how to vote, and how long the polls are staying open.

The Maryland State Board of Elections has issued a few reminders for voters still looking to pick candidates during this year’s primary.

Voters will choose candidates for president, U.S. Senate and the U.S House of Representatives, along with delegates to the national political conventions.

Some local elections are also taking place, including primaries for mayor and city council of Baltimore and Cecil County executive. Most jurisdictions are also seeing elections for judgeships and school board seats, and municipal elections are taking place in Hagerstown.

The Senate seat became open last year when Sen. Ben Cardin (D) announced he wouldn’t seek reelection.

Three of Maryland’s eight U.S. House seats are also being vacated — those currently held by Reps. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-2nd), John Sarbanes (D-3rd) and David Trone (D-6th). Trone remains in a tightly contested Senate primary with Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D).

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. A person in line before polls close will still be able to cast a ballot. Here’s how you can find your polling location.

Voters who still haven’t registered to vote can do so on the same day at a polling place.

To prove your residency and vote on the spot, bring an MVA-issued driver’s license, ID card, change of address card, paycheck, bank statement, utility bill or other government document with name and address.

Voters can also still vote by mail-in ballot. It must be postmarked by or before 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

Votes can drop a ballot in a ballot box in their particular jurisdiction or at their local board of elections by 8 p.m.

“Whether voting in person, registering to vote, or returning a mail-in ballot, May 14 is the final day to act in this year’s primary presidential election,” State Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis said in a statement. “We encourage every voter to exercise their right to vote if they have not already done so.”

For more election or voter information, visit the election board’s VOTE!MD campaign.

DOJ oversight

The U.S. Justice Department announced Monday that it will monitor elections Tuesday in Prince George’s County, to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws.

The department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland work in partnership to enforce the federal voting rights laws that protect the rights of all citizens to access the ballot. The department regularly deploys its staff to monitor for compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections in communities all across the country. In addition, the Civil Rights Division also deploys federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management, where authorized by federal court order.

Monitoring the count

The state Board of Elections will begin posting results from early voting sites and mail-in ballots that have already been counted after the last polling place in the state has closed Tuesday night. Barring major glitches, primary day vote totals should be publicly available late in the evening.

If races are so close that late-arriving mail-in ballots need to be tallied to determine winners, it may be several days before final results are known.

By William J. Ford