Sec. 33.11.05.07. Ballot Rejection — Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot

A. The local board shall reject a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot if:

(1) The Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot was not timely received;

(2) Before the ballot is canvassed, the local board determines that the voter died before election day;

(3) The voter failed to sign the oath accompanying the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot;

(4) The local board determines that the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot is intentionally marked with an identifying mark that is clearly evident and placed on the ballot for the purposes of identifying the ballot;

(5) The voter was required to submit personal identification information under COMAR 33.11.02.07 but failed to submit that information before the absentee ballot canvass began, in which case the ballot shall be treated as a provisional ballot properly applied for and canvassed insofar as possible under the procedures in COMAR 33.16.05.05, 33.16.05.06, and 33.16.06;

(6) The Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot was submitted by an overseas voter who is not an absent uniformed services voter and was submitted from within the United States; or

(7) The local board counted the voter's State absentee ballot.

B. In a general election, the local board may not reject a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot or a vote on a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot solely because the absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter wrote in the name of a political party, in which case the ballot or vote on the ballot shall be counted as a vote for the candidate affiliated with political party written by the voter on the ballot.