Everyone Votes Maryland is a nonpartisan coalition of national, state, and grassroots organizations dedicated to ensuring that all eligible Marylanders can have their voices heard on Election Day.
Together, we have:
- Established a permanent mail-in ballot list. We’ve streamlined the process so eligible voters can request their mail-in ballot and opt into receiving future ballots automatically by mail, eliminating the risk of voters missing request deadlines or overall confusion about the process. Implementation will ensure those voters needing to use the mail-in voting process the most can easily make their voices heard in the 2022 elections and beyond.
- Made secure & accessible drop boxes a permanent staple in our elections. Drop boxes provide a safe, secure, and accessible method of returning mail-in ballots. This method of delivery grew popular during the 2020 election where over a million voters selected to return their ballot using this process. We’ve built on the success of that pilot program, making 300 drop boxes available for future elections. It provides for many of the safeguards used in the 2020 election year, 24/7 surveillance and daily pick up from the local boards of elections with a clear chain of custody.
- Created a statewide process for “curing” mail-in ballots. When mail-in ballots are received in a timely manner or preprocessing of ballots allowed, election officials are able to check for the presence of a signature and identify any errors with a ballot that can be “cured” by a voter. This process provides for a window of time in which voters can correct their mistakes. A clear process that ensures Marylanders using this voting method have their voice heard in our elections will be available in 2022 and beyond, helping to reduce the overall ballot rejection rates.
- Allowed for the pre-processing of mail-in ballots. Local boards of election are now permitted to review the envelopes and to open and scan mail-in ballots eight business days before the start of Early Voting. This will not include tallying votes before polls close on Election Day. The timely preprocessing of ballots will ensure election officials are able to check for the presence of a signature and identify any errors with a ballot that can be “cured” by a voter. This will also help provide timely election results.
- Modernized Maryland Elections through Automatic Voter Registration (AVR). In 2018, the General Assembly created a program of AVR, or opt-out voter registration, at certain agencies. When Marylanders interact with certain agencies (the MVA, the Maryland healthcare exchange, local social service agencies), those agencies will opt them into voter registration unless they explicitly choose not to be registered. This process has helped to increase voter registration and helps to keep Maryland’s voter rolls up-to-date by expediting voter registration updates when Marylanders move and interact with these agencies.
- Increased access to voter registration through Election Day Registration (EDR). In 2018, Maryland voters overwhelmingly passed Question 2, a state constitutional amendment that allowed the General Assembly to create a process for voting-eligible Marylanders to register or update their registration at the polls on election day. Maryland already allowed for same-day registration during the early voting period, however the wording of the state constitution did not allow for the same process on election day. In 2019, we fully implemented the program, ensuring anyone qualified to vote can do so when they show up to the polls. Learn more about the registration process.
Join the Coalition
We’re always looking to work with organizations in Maryland that are dedicated to ensuring all eligible voters can vote. If you are interested in joining the coalition, please sign this form and someone from the coalition will be in touch with you.
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