New Subtitle 17 Early Voting

 

Chapter 02 Early Voting Centers.

 

.01 Number of Early Voting Centers.

 

A.        Date to Determine Number of Registered Voters.

 

(1)        The State Administrator shall determine the number of registered voters in each county as of 5:00 p.m. on:

 

                        (a)        For a gubernatorial or Baltimore City election, January 2nd in the year of the election[1]; or

 

                        (b)        For a presidential election, June 1st in the year preceding the election. 

 

(2)        For purposes of making this determination, the State Administrator shall include only active voters.

 

B.         Determination of Early Voting Centers.  Within 5 days of the determination in §A of this regulation, the State Administrator shall provide each local board with the number of early voting centers as required under Election Law Article, §10-301.1, Annotated Code of Maryland.

 

.02 Selecting Early Voting Centers.

 

A.        Form for Proposed Early Voting Center.

 

(1)        The State Board shall:

 

(a)        Prescribe a form for a local board to use to provide information about a proposed early voting center; and

 

(b)        Provide each local board with the form at least one year before a primary election.

 

(2)        (a)        At least seven months before a primary election, a local board shall submit a form for each proposed early voting center.

 

            (b)        If a local board is required to have more than one early voting center, the local board shall:

 

(i)         Complete a form for each proposed early voting center; and

 

(ii)        Submit the forms for each proposed early voting centers at the same time.

 

B.         Contents of Form.  The form shall include whether the proposed early voting center:

 

(1)        Will allow a local board to install the required telecommunication needs;

 

(2)        Is of sufficient size and layout to conduct early voting, including adequate access to electricity;

 

(3)        Is accessible or can be made accessible for voter with disabilities;

 

(4)        Is located in the county such that:

 

            (a)  In the case of a county that is assigned one early voting center, 50% of the registered voters in the county live within 10 miles of the proposed early voting center;

 

            (b) In the case of a county that is assigned three or five early voting centers, along with the other early voting centers in the county, 80% of the registered voters live within 5 miles of one of the early voting centers.

 

            (5)        Has the ability to store voting equipment and supplies in a secure location during non-early voting hours;

 

(6)        Can accommodate long lines of voters, including how voters waiting in line are protected against inclement weather;

 

(7)        Is served by public transportation and roads;

 

(8)        Has sufficient and reliable heating and air-conditioning capabilities;

 

(9)  Has parking facilities sufficient for early voting taking into consideration the normal business activities of the proposed early voting center; and

 

(10)      Can accommodate a no electioneering zone as required by Election Law Article, § 16-206, Annotated Code of Maryland and exit polling as required by COMAR 33.07.08.

 

C.        Additional Information.  For each proposed early voting center, a local board shall submit with the form required in §A of this regulation:

 

(1)        A diagram of the facility, including the proposed layout of the voting equipment and electrical and telecommunications connections in the voting area and the proposed locations of the election judges;

 

(2)        The State of Maryland’s Accessibility Survey form; and

 

(3)        Digital photographs of the outside of and entrance to the proposed early voting center.

 

D.        Inability to Identify Proposed Early Voting Center.  If the proposed early voting center does not meet all of the criteria listed on the form required in §A of this regulation, a local board shall provide on the form:

 

            (1)        A list of other facilities that were considered and why those facilities are not being proposed as an early voting center; and

 

(2)        A description of the factors that mitigate the fact the proposed early voting center does not meet all of the criteria listed on the form required in §A of this regulation.

 

E.         Use of Local Board Office.  If a local board proposes to use the offices of the local board as an early voting center, the local board must:

 

(1)        Have a clearly marked space for early voting that is distinct and separate from absentee voting that occurs at the office; and

 

(2)        Post signs and include in all election-specific materials the business hours of the local board and the early voting hours.

 

F.         Approval of Early Voting Centers.

 

(1)        Upon receipt of a form for a proposed early voting center, the State Administrator shall review and make a recommendation to the State Board as to whether to accept or reject the proposed early voting center.

 

(2)        The State Board shall:

 

(a)        Vote on a local board’s proposed early voting center within 30 days of receipt of the form required in §A of this regulation;

 

            (b)        Give deference to a proposed early voting center for which a local board can make the acknowledgments required in §B of this regulation; and

 

            (c)        Within two days after its vote on a proposed early voting center, notify the local board of this outcome of the State Board’s vote.

 

(3)        Upon approval by the State Board, a local board shall include in its disaster recovery plan the name, address, and contact information for the early voting center.

 

G.        Alternate Early Voting Centers.

 

(1)        (a)        A local board shall identify an alternate early voting center for use if an approved early voting center becomes unavailable.

 

(b)        A local board shall give preference to the offices of the local board or a government facility when considering the location of an alternate early voting center.

 

(2)        A local board shall identify:

 

(a)        One alternate early voting center if the local board is required to establish one or three early voting centers; or

 

(b)        Two alternate early voting centers if the local board is required to establish five early voting centers. 

 

(3)        A local board shall:

 

(a)        At least three months before a primary election, complete and submit to the State Administrator the form required by §A of this regulation for each proposed alternate early voting center; and

 

(b)        Upon approval by the State Administrator of the alternate early voting center:

(i)         Submit the form to the appropriate local government agencies; and

 

(ii)        Include in its disaster recovery plan the name, address, and contact information for an alternate early voting center.

 

.03 Agreement for Early Voting Center.

 

A.        Agreement Required.  A local board shall enter into a legally binding agreement with an authorized representative of the facility where early voting will be conducted.

 

B.         Required Provisions.  The agreement shall contain the following provisions:

 

(1)        The dates and times when a local board requires access to the facility;

 

(2)        The amount of compensation, if any, a local board is required to pay to use the facility as an early voting center;

 

(3)        Authorization to install and test equipment and telecommunications connections before early voting and remove equipment and connections after early voting;

 

(4)        Authorization to install temporary measures to improve access to the early voting center for voters with disabilities;

 

(5)        Require the facility to provide a local board with its policies and procedures for inclement weather and other emergency situations;

 

(6)        Whether the facility or the local board is responsible for providing appropriate services in case of inclement weather or other emergency situations;

 

(7)        If agreed to by the facility’s authorized representative, a copy of the facility’s disaster recovery plan;

 

(8)        Authorization to establish a no electioneering zone during early voting; and

 

(9)        Authorization to allow exit polling within the no electioneering zone.

 

C.        Filing with State Administrator.  Within 30 days of executing the agreement, a local board shall file a copy of the signed agreement with the State Administrator.

 

.04 Security Plans for Early Voting Center.

 

A.        Security Plan Required.  At least eight weeks before early voting begins, an election director shall submit an early voting security plan for approval to the State Administrator. 

 

B.         Contents of Plan. 

 

(1)        The early voting security plan shall describe in detail how a local board will keep voting equipment, electronic pollbooks, ballots, and other election equipment and supplies secure during early voting and non-early voting hours.

 

(2)        The plan shall include:

           

(a)        A description of each entrance (including windows) to the area where equipment and supplies will be secured during non-early voting hours and how the entrance is secured;

 

(b)        The names and titles of all individuals who have a key(s) to the room where equipment and supplies will be secured during non-early voting hours;

 

(c)        A description of existing building security (such as alarms and close-circuit or Internet accessible cameras), and guards (armed or unarmed) at the facility; and

 

(d)        Any additional security measures that will be taken during early voting and non-early voting hours.

 

            (3)        At the request of the State Administrator or when it is deemed necessary, an election director shall:

 

(a)        Review and update the early voting security plan; and

 

(b)        If updated, within two days of updating the plan, submit a copy of the updated plan to the State Administrator.

 

C.        Review and Acceptance of Plan.

 

(1)        The State Administrator shall review a local board’s early voting security plan and may require a local board to make changes to the plan, including implementing additional security measures. 

 

(2)        Within 30 days of receipt of a early voting security plan, the State Administrator shall review and provide feedback to a local board.

 

(3)        A local board shall update its plan according to the feedback provided the State Administrator.

 


[1] Under 10-301.1(C) of Chapter 445 of the 2009 Laws of Maryland, the locations of the early voting centers must be designated at least six months before a primary election.  For a gubernatorial and Baltimore City election, this means that the locations must be in place by mid-March in the year of the election; for a presidential election, this means that the locations must be in place by mid-August of the year preceding the election.  The dates in the proposed regulation are based on the six months set by statute and 2 ˝ additional months.