Early Voting Centers Open; Absentee Ballot Requests Accepted

For the 2014 primary election, voters can vote in person or by absentee ballot.  To vote in person, voters who reside in Prince George’s County can vote before election day at a designated early voting center or on election day at the polling place for their residence.

Early voting centers will be open for voting from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Thursday, June 12, through and including Thursday, June 19.

The early voting centers in Prince George’s County are located at: 

• Baden Community Center, 13601 Baden-Westwood Road, Brandywine
• Bowie Community Center, 3209 Stonybrook Drive, Bowie
• College Park Community Center, 5051 Pierce Avenue, College Park
• Laurel-Beltsville Senior Activity Center, 7120 Contee Road, Laurel 
• Suitland Community Park School Center, 5600 Regency Lane, Forestville
• Southern Regional Technology and Recreation Complex, 7007 Bock Road, Fort Washington
• Upper Marlboro Community Center, 5400 Marlboro Race Track Road, Upper Marlboro 
• Wayne K. Curry Sports and Learning Center, 8001 Sheriff Road, Landover 

Prince George’s County voters may vote at the designated early voting centers. Addresses, driving directions and photographs of all of the early voting centers are available at www.elections.maryland.gov/voting/early_voting.html. Early Voting Center wait times will be available on our website, http://elections.mypgc.us.

Voters who prefer to vote on election day can vote on Tuesday, June 24. On election day, polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To avoid delays, voters should try to vote between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Where Do I Vote? 

During early voting, Prince George’s County voters can vote at any designated early voting center in the county. There are eight early voting centers in Prince George’s County for the 2014 elections. Centers are located at accessible facilities with adequate parking and within a convenient driving distance for most voters in the county.

Information about early voting centers and early voting in general is available on our website at http://elections.mypgc.us or on the State Board of Elections website at www.elections.maryland.gov/voting/early_voting.html.

On election day, Prince George’s County voters should vote at the polling place to which they are assigned.  Voters can find their assigned precinct by looking at the voter notification card they received from the Prince George’s County Board of Elections or by clicking the Find Your Polling Place link at www.elections.maryland.gov.

Voters who have moved, but have not updated their address with the Prince George’s County Board of Elections, should search for the polling place for their new address or contact the Prince George’s County Board of Elections. It is important for voters to vote in the polling place for their new address because only those contests for which voters are eligible to vote will be counted.

How Do I Vote? 

All voters in Maryland use the same voting system. For early voting and polling place voting, voters use a touchscreen voting system. Instructions will be available to help voters familiarize themselves with the ballot and how to vote. Voters may also ask an election judge to explain how to vote on the voting system, but a voter must vote alone, unless the voter is unable to do so because of disability, inability to write, or inability to read the ballot.

For absentee and provisional voting, voters are issued a paper ballot.  Absentee voters who choose to receive their ballot electronically must print their own paper ballot to mark by hand. Voters fill in the ovals next to the candidates or ballot question responses for which they want to vote.

At the Prince George’s County Board of Elections, the ballot is fed into an optical scan voting unit which reads and tabulates the selections made by voters. All provisional ballots and absentee ballots are reviewed in a public meeting after the election and counted or rejected according to state law and regulation. 

How Can I Get an Absentee Ballot?

Voters may request to receive their absentee ballot by mail, electronically, or by fax. Visit www.elections.maryland.gov/voting/absentee.html to request an absentee ballot. The deadline to request a mailed or faxed absentee ballot is Tuesday, June 17.

The deadline to request an electronic absentee ballot is Friday, June 20. Voters who request an electronic absentee ballot will be notified by email that their ballot is ready for download, then instructed to enter unique identifying information before printing their ballot, voting instructions, and return envelope template.

If a Prince George’s County voter misses the above deadlines, but still wants to vote by absentee ballot, the voter or the voter’s agent must apply in person at the Prince George’s County Board of Elections before 8 p.m. on election day.  Visit www.elections.maryland.gov/voting/absentee.html for more information.

Voted absentee ballots may be delivered to the Prince George’s County Board of Elections by 8 p.m. on election day or mailed on or before election day and received by the local board by Monday, July 7. All absentee ballots are reviewed, regardless of whether or not the absentee ballots will impact the outcome of an election. 

What is a Provisional Ballot? 

A provisional ballot is a safeguard to ensure that individuals who believe they are registered and eligible to vote are able to vote. Voters required to vote by provisional ballot will be asked to complete a provisional ballot application, and then issued a paper ballot. It is important that voters complete the entire provisional ballot application because the information on the application is used to determine whether the provisional ballot will be counted.

All provisional ballot applications are reviewed, regardless of whether or not the provisional ballots impact the outcome of an election. A provisional ballot will only be counted after the Prince George’s County Board of Elections has reviewed the provisional ballot application and determined that the individual is in fact registered and eligible to vote the provisional ballot.

A provisional ballot is not an alternative to the electronic voting system.  Additional information about provisional voting is available at www.elections.maryland.gov/voting/provisional_voting.html.

Voters can visit www.elections.maryland.gov/elections/2014/index.html for more 2014 election information or contact the Prince George’s County Board of Elections at 301-341-7300 or the State Board of Elections at 1-800-222-VOTE (8683).