Maryland 2022 Regular Session

Maryland House Bill HB212 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
4	4	[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5	5	hb0212
6	6
7	7	HOUSE BILL 212
8	8	G1 2lr1905
9	9	HB 1192/21 – W&M
10	10	By: Delegate Parrott
11	11	Introduced and read first time: January 13, 2022
12	12	Assigned to: Ways and Means
13	13
14	14	A BILL ENTITLED
15	15
16	16	AN ACT concerning 1
17	17
18	18	Election Law – Signature Verification of Absentee Ballots and Absentee Ballot 2
19	19	Applications and Ballot Canvassing 3
20	20
21	21	FOR the purpose of establishing requirements and procedures for the verification of 4
22	22	signatures on absentee ballot applications and requests and absentee ballots; 5
23	23	altering the reasons for which local boards of elections are required to reject absentee 6
24	24	and provisional ballots during the canvass; and generally relating to signature 7
25	25	verification and the canvassing of ballots. 8
26	26
27	27	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 9
28	28	Article – Election Law 10
29	29	Section 9–303, 9–305(a), 9–306, 11–302(d), and 11–303(d)(2) 11
30	30	Annotated Code of Maryland 12
31	31	(2017 Replacement Volume and 2021 Supplement) 13
32	32
33	33	BY adding to 14
34	34	Article – Election Law 15
35	35	Section 9–310.1 16
36	36	Annotated Code of Maryland 17
37	37	(2017 Replacement Volume and 2021 Supplement) 18
38	38
39	39	BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 19
40	40	Article – Election Law 20
41	41	Section 10–312(a)(2) 21
42	42	Annotated Code of Maryland 22
43	43	(2017 Replacement Volume and 2021 Supplement) 23
44	44
45	45	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 24
46	46	That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 25
47	47
48	48	Article – Election Law 26 2 HOUSE BILL 212
49	49
50	50
51	51
52	52	9–303. 1
53	53
54	54	(a) The State Board shall establish guidelines for the administration of absentee 2
55	55	voting by the local boards. 3
56	56
57	57	(b) The guidelines shall provide for: 4
58	58
59	59	(1) the application process; 5
60	60
61	61	(2) late application for absentee ballots; 6
62	62
63	63	(3) ballot security, including storage of returned ballots; 7
64	64
65	65	(4) determining timeliness of receipt of applications and ballots, including 8
66	66	applications and ballots for overseas voters; 9
67	67
68	68	(5) the canvass process; 10
69	69
70	70	(6) notice of the canvass to candidates, political parties, campaign 11
71	71	organizations, news media, and the general public; 12
72	72
73	73	(7) observers of the process; 13
74	74
75	75	(8) review of voted ballots and envelopes for compliance with the law and 14
76	76	for machine tabulation acceptability; 15
77	77
78	78	(9) standards for disallowance of ballots during the canvass; 16
79	79
80	80	(10) storage and retention of ballots following canvass and certification; 17
81	81	[and] 18
82	82
83	83	(11) the permanent absentee ballot list; AND 19
84	84
85	85	(12) VERIFICATION OF SIGN ATURES ON ABSENTEE B ALLOT 20
86	86	APPLICATIONS AND ABS ENTEE BALLOTS . 21
87	87
88	88	(c) The State Board shall: 22
89	89
90	90	(1) in consultation with the local boards, assess the guidelines before each 23
91	91	primary election; and 24
92	92
93	93	(2) revise the guidelines if indicated. 25
94	94
95	95	9–305. 26
96	96	HOUSE BILL 212 3
97	97
98	98
99	99	(a) (1) A voter may request an absentee ballot by completing and submitting: 1
100	100
101	101	[(1)] (I) the State [Board approved] BOARD–APPROVED absentee ballot 2
102	102	application; 3
103	103
104	104	[(2)] (II) a form provided under federal law; 4
105	105
106	106	[(3)] (III) subject to subsection (b) of this section, a written request that 5
107	107	includes: 6
108	108
109	109	[(i)] 1. the voter’s name, residence address, and signature; and 7
110	110
111	111	[(ii)] 2. the address to which the ballot is to be mailed, if different 8
112	112	from the residence address; or 9
113	113
114	114	[(4)] (IV) the accessible online absentee ballot application provided by the 10
115	115	State Board. 11
116	116
117	117	(2) THE STATE BOARD–APPROVED ABSENTEE BA LLOT APPLICATION , 12
118	118	A WRITTEN REQUEST UN DER PARAGRAPH (1)(III) OF THIS SUBSECTION , AND THE 13
119	119	ONLINE ABSENTEE BALLOT APPL ICATION SHALL REQUIR E THE VOTER TO INDIC ATE 14
120	120	THE VOTER ’S PREFERRED METHOD T O RECEIVE COMMUNICAT IONS, IN 15
121	121	ACCORDANCE WITH § 9–310.1 OF THIS SUBTITLE , FROM AMONG THE FOLLO WING 16
122	122	METHODS: 17
123	123
124	124	(I) MAIL; 18
125	125
126	126	(II) E–MAIL; OR 19
127	127
128	128	(III) TEXT MESSAGE. 20
129	129
130	130	9–306. 21
131	131
132	132	(a) [Promptly] SUBJECT TO SUBSECTION (B) OF THIS SECTION , PROMPTLY 22
133	133	after receipt of an application, the election director shall review the application and 23
134	134	determine whether the applicant qualifies to vote by absentee ballot. 24
135	135
136	136	(B) (1) (I) FOR THE STATE BOARD–APPROVED ABSENTEE BA LLOT 25
137	137	APPLICATION, THE FORM PROVIDED UN DER FEDERAL LAW , OR A WRITTEN 26
138	138	REQUEST, THE ELECTION DIRECTO R SHALL VERIFY THE S IGNATURE OF A VOTER ON 27
139	139	THE APPLICATION , FORM, OR WRITTEN REQUEST B Y COMPARING THE SIGN ATURE 28
140	140	WITH THE SIGNATURE ON THE VOTER’S REGISTRATION RECOR D IN ACCORDANCE 29
141	141	WITH REGULATIONS ADO PTED BY THE STATE BOARD. 30
142	142
143	143	(II) THE STATE BOARD SHALL PROVIDE T O EACH LOCAL BOARD 31 4 HOUSE BILL 212
144	144
145	145
146	146	MACHINES REQUIRED TO ELECTRONICALLY VERIF Y SIGNATURES AS REQU IRED IN 1
147	147	SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS PARAGRAPH . 2
148	148
149	149	(2) (I) IF THE ELECTION DIREC TOR IS UNABLE TO VER IFY A 3
150	150	VOTER’S SIGNATURE IN ACCOR DANCE WITH PARAGRAPH (1) OF THIS SUBSECTION , 4
151	151	THE LOCAL BOARD SHAL L: 5
152	152
153	153	1. NOTIFY THE VOTER BY THE VOTER’S PREFERRED 6
154	154	METHOD OF COMMUNICAT ION INDICATED IN A CCORDANCE WITH § 9–305 OF THIS 7
155	155	SUBTITLE; AND 8
156	156
157	157	2. DIRECT THE VOTER TO PROVIDE AN ADDITIONA L 9
158	158	FORM OF IDENTIFICATI ON IN ACCORDANCE WIT H SUBPARAGRAPH (II) OF THIS 10
159	159	PARAGRAPH . 11
160	160
161	161	(II) ON NOTIFICATION BY TH E LOCAL BOARD UNDER 12
162	162	SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS PARAGR APH, THE VOTER SHALL PROV IDE TO THE 13
163	163	LOCAL BOARD A COPY O F ANY OF THE FORMS O F IDENTIFICATION LIS TED IN § 14
164	164	10–312 OF THIS ARTICLE. 15
165	165
166	166	[(b)] (C) If the applicant qualifies to vote by absentee ballot, the local board shall 16
167	167	provide the ballot by one of the following methods requested by the voter: 17
168	168
169	169	(1) mail; 18
170	170
171	171	(2) facsimile transmission; 19
172	172
173	173	(3) the Internet; or 20
174	174
175	175	(4) by hand during an in–person transaction. 21
176	176
177	177	[(c)] (D) Once ballots are available, the local board shall provide the ballot to a 22
178	178	qualified applicant: 23
179	179
180	180	(1) as soon as practicable after receipt of the request; or 24
181	181
182	182	(2) immediately for an in–person transaction with a voter or the voter’s 25
183	183	duly authorized agent. 26
184	184
185	185	[(d)] (E) (1) If the members of the local board determine that the applicant is 27
186	186	not entitled to vote by absentee ballot, the local board shall notify the applicant as soon as 28
187	187	practicable after receipt of the application of the reasons for the rejection. 29
188	188
189	189	(2) (i) The local board may delegate the determination under 30
190	190	paragraph (1) of this subsection to the staff of the local board. 31 HOUSE BILL 212 5
191	191
192	192
193	193
194	194	(ii) If the determination has been delegated, the applicant may 1
195	195	appeal the rejection to the members of the local board, who shall decide the appeal as 2
196	196	expeditiously as practicable. 3
197	197
198	198	[(e)] (F) Not more than one absentee ballot may be issued to a voter unless the 4
199	199	election director of the local board has reasonable grounds to believe that an absentee ballot 5
200	200	previously issued to the voter has been lost, destroyed, or spoiled. 6
201	201
202	202	9–310.1. 7
203	203
204	204	(A) AN ABSENTEE BALLOT CAST IN ACCORDANCE W ITH THIS SUBTITLE 8
205	205	SHALL BE COUNTED ONL Y IF: 9
206	206
207	207	(1) THE RETURN IDENTIFIC ATION ENVELOPE IS SI GNED BY THE 10
208	208	VOTER TO WHOM THE BA LLOT WAS ISSUED ; AND 11
209	209
210	210	(2) THE SIGNATURE IS VER IFIED AS PROVIDED IN SUBSECTION (C) OF 12
211	211	THIS SECTION. 13
212	212
213	213	(B) IF A VOTER IS UNABLE TO P ROVIDE A SIGNATURE T HAT MATCHES THE 14
214	214	SIGNATURE ON THE VOT ER’S REGISTRATION RECOR D, THE VOTER SHALL IDEN TIFY 15
215	215	THE REASON WHY THE P ROVIDED SIGNATURE IS INCONSISTENT WITH TH E 16
216	216	SIGNATURE ON RECORD . 17
217	217
218	218	(C) (1) EACH LOCAL BOARD SHAL L VERIFY THE SIGNATURE OF A VOTER 18
219	219	ON THE RETURN IDENTI FICATION ENVELOPE BY COMPARING THE SIGNAT URE WITH 19
220	220	THE SIGNATURE ON THE VOTER’S REGISTRATION RECOR D IN ACCORDANCE WITH 20
221	221	REGULATIONS ADOPTED BY THE STATE BOARD. 21
222	222
223	223	(2) THE STATE BOARD SHALL PROVIDE T O EACH LOCAL BOARD 22
224	224	MACHINES REQUIRED TO ELECTRONICALLY VERIF Y SIGNATURES AS REQU IRED IN 23
225	225	PARAGRAPH (1) OF THIS SUBSECTION . 24
226	226
227	227	(D) (1) IF THE LOCAL BOARD IS UNABLE TO VERIFY A V OTER’S 25
228	228	SIGNATURE IN ACCORDA NCE WITH THIS SECTIO N, THE LOCAL BOARD SHAL L: 26
229	229
230	230	(I) NOTIFY THE VOTER BY THE VOTER’S PREFERRED METHOD 27
231	231	OF COMMUNICATION IND ICATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH § 9–305 OF THIS SUBTITLE ; 28
232	232	AND 29
233	233
234	234	(II) DIRECT THE VOTER EIT HER: 30
235	235
236	236	1. TO PROVIDE AN ADDITI ONAL FORM OF 31 6 HOUSE BILL 212
237	237
238	238
239	239	IDENTIFICATION IN AC CORDANCE WITH PARAGR APH (2) OF THIS SUBSECTION ; OR 1
240	240
241	241	2. TO VOTE IN PERSON . 2
242	242
243	243	(2) ON NOTIFICATION BY TH E LOCAL BOARD UNDER PARAGRAPH (1) 3
244	244	OF THIS SUBSECTION , FOR THE VOTER ’S ABSENTEE BALLOT TO BE COUNTED , THE 4
245	245	VOTER MUST PROVIDE T O THE LOCAL BOARD A COPY OF ANY OF THE F ORMS OF 5
246	246	IDENTIFICATION LISTE D IN § 10–312 OF THIS ARTICLE. 6
247	247
248	248	(E) THE STATE BOARD SHALL ADOPT REG ULATIONS TO CARRY OU T THIS 7
249	249	SECTION. 8
250	250
251	251	10–312. 9
252	252
253	253	(a) (2) An individual whose right to vote is challenged at the polls may 10
254	254	establish the individual’s identity by presenting any of the following forms of identification: 11
255	255
256	256	(i) the individual’s voter registration card; 12
257	257
258	258	(ii) the individual’s Social Security card; 13
259	259
260	260	(iii) the individual’s valid Maryland driver’s license; 14
261	261
262	262	(iv) any identification card issued to the individual by a political 15
263	263	subdivision of the State, the State, the federal government, or any unit of a political 16
264	264	subdivision of the State, the State, or the federal government; 17
265	265
266	266	(v) any employee identification card of the individual that contains 18
267	267	a photograph of the individual and is issued by the employer of the individual in the 19
268	268	ordinary course of the employer’s business; or 20
269	269
270	270	(vi) a copy of a current bill, bank statement, government check, 21
271	271	paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and current address of the 22
272	272	individual. 23
273	273
274	274	11–302. 24
275	275
276	276	(d) (1) The State Board shall adopt regulations that reflect the policy that the 25
277	277	clarity of the intent of the voter is the overriding consideration in determining the validity 26
278	278	of an absentee ballot or the vote cast in a particular contest. 27
279	279
280	280	(2) A local board may not reject an absentee ballot except by unanimous 28
281	281	vote and in accordance with regulations of the State Board. 29
282	282
283	283	(3) The local board shall reject an absentee ballot if: 30
284	284	HOUSE BILL 212 7
285	285
286	286
287	287	(i) the voter failed to sign the oath on the ballot envelope; 1
288	288
289	289	(ii) the local board received more than one ballot from the same 2
290	290	individual for the same election in the same ballot envelope; [or] 3
291	291
292	292	(iii) the local board determines that an absentee ballot is 4
293	293	intentionally marked with an identifying mark that is clearly evident and placed on the 5
294	294	ballot for the purpose of identifying the ballot; OR 6
295	295
296	296	(IV) THE LOCAL BOARD DETE RMINES THAT THE VOTE R VOTED 7
297	297	IN PERSON AT A POLLI NG PLACE IN THE SAME ELECTION. 8
298	298
299	299	(4) If the local board receives more than one legally sufficient ballot, in 9
300	300	separate envelopes, from the same individual, the local board shall: 10
301	301
302	302	(i) count only the ballot with the latest properly signed oath; and 11
303	303
304	304	(ii) reject any other ballot. 12
305	305
306	306	(5) If the intent of the voter is not clearly demonstrated, the local board 13
307	307	shall reject only the vote for that office or question. 14
308	308
309	309	(6) If an absentee voter casts a vote for an individual who has ceased to be 15
310	310	a candidate, the vote for that candidate may not be counted, but that vote does not 16
311	311	invalidate the remainder of the ballot. 17
312	312
313	313	11–303. 18
314	314
315	315	(d) (2) (I) The local board shall reject a provisional ballot if: 19
316	316
317	317	[(i)] 1. pursuant to paragraph (4) of this subsection, the local 20
318	318	board determines that the individual who cast the provisional ballot is not qualified to vote 21
319	319	that provisional ballot; 22
320	320
321	321	[(ii)] 2. the individual failed to sign the oath on the provisional 23
322	322	ballot application; 24
323	323
324	324	[(iii)] 3. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED I N SUBPARAGRAPH (II) OF THIS 25
325	325	PARAGRAPH , the individual cast more than one ballot for the same election; or 26
326	326
327	327	[(iv)] 4. the local board determines that a provisional ballot is 27
328	328	intentionally marked with an identifying mark that is clearly evident and placed on the 28
329	329	ballot for the purpose of identifying the ballot. 29
330	330
331	331	(II) IF A VOTER’S ABSENTEE BALLOT IS REJEC TED UNDER § 30
332	332	11–302(D)(3)(IV) OF THIS SUBTITLE , THE VOTER’S PROVISIONAL BALLOT MAY NOT 31 8 HOUSE BILL 212
333	333
334	334
335	335	BE REJECTED BECAUSE THE VOTER CAST MORE THAN ONE BALLOT FOR THE SAME 1
336	336	ELECTION. 2
337	337
338	338	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effec t 3
339	339	January 1, 2024. 4
340	340