A ballot drop box for the 2020 elections at the University of Maryland at Baltimore Community Engagement Center on West Baltimore Street. File photo by Hannah Gaskill.
By Caley Fox Shannon
WASHINGTON – The Maryland State Board of Elections completed the installation Wednesday of 286 ballot drop boxes across the state for the general election.
Marylanders can use any drop box to cast their mail-in ballots, which may arrive in homes as early as next week.
“What you see now is a huge shift towards mail-in voting,” said Maryland State Administrator of Elections Jared DeMarinis.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant expansion of mail-in voting in Maryland. During lockdown, the state sent all eligible voters mail-in ballots for the 2020 primary election. In that election, 97% of ballots were cast by mail.
Although the share of ballots cast by mail diminished as voters returned to the polls in 2022 and the 2024 primary, mail-in voting remains far more popular than it was before the pandemic. And according to DeMarinis, it’s here to stay.