Sec. 33.11.02.01. In General

A. Qualification. A registered voter may apply for and vote by an absentee ballot if:

(1) The voter is qualified under Election Law Article, §9-304 or §10-102, Annotated Code of Maryland; and

(2) The voter satisfies any identification requirement under Regulation .07 of this chapter.

B. Methods of Applying. An application for an absentee ballot may be made by:

(1) Formal request, as provided in Regulation .02 of this chapter;

(2) Informal, written request, as provided in Regulation .03 of this chapter; or

(3) In-person request, as provided in Regulation .04 of this chapter.

C. Requests for Application. A local board shall accept requests for a formal application sent by mail or electronic transmission.

D. Timely Request.

(1) A request is timely if the local board receives the request by the applicable deadline in §D(2) of this regulation.

(2) If voter’s request was submitted:

(a) By electronic submission and the voter requested the absentee ballot be sent by:

(i) Mail or facsimile, the request must be received on or before 11:59:59 p.m. on the Tuesday before the election; or

(ii) Internet, the request must be received on or before 11:59:59 p.m. on the Friday before the election;

(b) By mail and the voter requested the absentee ballot be sent by:

(i) Mail or facsimile, the request must be received on or before 8 p.m. on the Tuesday before the election; or

(ii) Internet, the request must be received on or before 5 p.m. on the Friday before the election; or

(c) In person by the voter or the voter’s authorized agent, the request must be received on or before 8 p.m. on election day.

E. Third-Party Submission. An individual or organization receiving a completed absentee ballot application from a voter shall submit the application to the appropriate local board within 2 business days of receiving the application or by the deadline to submit an absentee ballot application established in §D(2) of this regulation, whichever occurs first.

F. Early Submission. An election director may not reject an otherwise valid absentee ballot application submitted by a voter solely because the application was submitted before the Statewide voter registration system is ready to accept an absentee ballot application for that election.

G. Duration of Absentee Ballot Application. An absentee ballot application shall only apply to the elections specified by the voter but shall be limited to the upcoming primary and general election and any special election within the calendar year in which the primary and general election occurs.