Section 9-303 - Guidelines. - Maryland Statutes

§ 9-303. Guidelines.
 

(a)  Established by State Board.- The State Board shall establish guidelines for the administration of absentee voting by the local boards. 

(b)  Content.- The guidelines shall provide for: 

(1) the application process; 

(2) late application for absentee ballots; 

(3) ballot security, including storage of returned ballots; 

(4) determining timeliness of receipt of applications and ballots, including applications and ballots for overseas voters; 

(5) the canvass process; 

(6) notice of the canvass to candidates, political parties, campaign organizations, news media, and the general public; 

(7) observers of the process; 

(8) review of voted ballots and envelopes for compliance with the law and for machine tabulation acceptability; 

(9) standards for disallowance of ballots during the canvass; and 

(10) storage and retention of ballots following canvass and certification. 

(c)  Periodic assessment and revision of guidelines.- The State Board shall: 

(1) in consultation with the local boards, assess the guidelines before each primary election; and 

(2) revise the guidelines if indicated. 
 

[An. Code 1957, art. 33, § 9-303; 2002, ch. 291, §§ 2, 4.]