Sec. 33.10.01.17. Ballots — In General

A. Content and Arrangement. The content and arrangement of all ballots shall comply with Election Law Article, Title 9, Subtitle 2, Annotated Code of Maryland, and this chapter.

B. Printing.

(1) Typesetting, ink color, paper stock, and stock colors shall meet all specifications set by:

(a) Election Law Article, Annotated Code of Maryland;

(b) This chapter; and

(c) The voting system’s manufacturer.

(2) Ballots shall be available at least 45 days before the election.

C. Printed Format - Placement of Contests, etc.

(1) If all contests cannot be placed on the front, contests shall be placed on both sides of the page.

(2) If all candidates and ballot questions cannot be placed on the front and back, the contests shall be divided into two or more pages.

(3) Whenever possible, the entire listing of a contest shall be printed on one side of the page.

D. Printed Format - Ballot Notices.

(1) If a ballot has contests printed on the front and back, the front shall contain a notice that other contests are printed on the back.

(2) If the ballot is more than one page, the back of the first page shall contain a notice that there is another page to the ballot.

(3) The last page of any ballot shall contain an end of ballot notice.

E. Write-In Spaces (General Elections). In a general election, write-in spaces shall be provided for each applicable office.

F. Ballot Packaging.

(1) Each local board shall notify the State Administrator no later than 5 months prior to the start of early voting for a primary election and no later than 4 months prior to a general election whether it wishes to receive pre-printed ballots packaged in accordance with §F(2) or (3) of this regulation.

(2) Ballot Stub. Pre-printed ballots packaged in this manner shall have an attached, single-perforated stub. Each ballot stub shall:

(a) Include the same information that Election Law Article, Annotated Code of Maryland, requires for the ballot heading; and

(b) Be serially numbered to facilitate ballot accounting.

(3) Ballot Pack.

(a) Pre-printed ballots packaged in this manner may not have an attached, single-perforated stub, but instead will be packaged together as an unbound pack. Each ballot pack shall include:

(i) A batch header sheet with the same information that Election Law Article, Annotated Code of Maryland, requires for the ballot heading; and

(ii) A range of sequential numbering to facilitate ballot accounting.

(b) If a local board opens a ballot pack prior to delivery to an early voting center or polling place, the local board shall repackage the opened ballot pack for delivery to the early voting center or polling place in a manner that preserves the integrity of the contents of the ballot pack.

G. Coding of Ballot Styles. Both machine-readable and human-readable coding shall be used to identify different ballot styles.

H. Countability. Ballots shall be both machine-countable and hand-countable.