1. A. Requirements for Polling Place Plan. A local board shall include in the polling place plan:

   1. (1) Evidence that the plan complies with Election Law Article, §10-101(a)(2), Annotated Code of Maryland;

   2. (2) In a Statewide election except for the first election immediately following statewide redistricting based on the census, if the polling place plan proposes to reduce the number of separate buildings used as polling places below the total number of separate buildings used as polling places in the first statewide general election held after the most recent Statewide redistricting based on the census:

      1. (a) The address and a description of the location of each affected polling place;
      2. (b) An analysis of available suitable buildings within the precinct boundary, including the availability of parking and a determination regarding building compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act;

      3. (c) Of the voters who cast ballots in each affected precinct in the three most recent Statewide elections:

         1. (i) The percentage who voted in person on election day;
         2. (ii) The percentage who voted by mail;
         3. (iii) The number who registered to vote on election day; and
         4. (iv) The number who voted at an early voting center;
      4. (d) Proximity of the proposed polling place to a dense concentration of voters in the affected precinct;
      5. (e) The change in the number of registered voters in the affected precinct from the last Statewide election;
      6. (f) The public transportation options that voters in each affected precinct could use to access the polling place that would serve the precinct under the plan; and
      7. (g) An analysis of the impact on the ability of historically disenfranchised communities to cast a ballot, including demographic information of the voters in the affected precinct.

   3. (3) In the first Statewide election held after a Statewide redistricting based on the census, if the polling place plan proposes to reduce the total number of separate buildings used as polling places below the total number of separate buildings used as polling places in the immediately preceding general election:

      1. (a) The address and a description of the location of each affected polling place;
      2. (b) An analysis of available suitable buildings within the precinct boundary, including the availability of parking and a determination regarding building compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act;

      3. (c) Of the voters who cast ballots in each affected precinct in the three most recent Statewide elections:

         1. (i) The percentage who voted in person on election day;
         2. (ii) The percentage who voted by mail;
         3. (iii) The number who registered to vote on election day; and
         4. (iv) The number who voted at an early voting center;
      4. (d) The proximity of the proposed polling place to a dense concentration of voters in the affected precinct;
      5. (e) The change in the number of registered voters in the affected precinct from the last Statewide election;
      6. (f) The public transportation options that voters in each affected precinct could use to access the polling place that would serve the precinct under the plan; and
      7. (g) An analysis of the impact on the ability of historically disenfranchised communities to cast a ballot, including demographic information of the voters in the affected precinct.

2. B. Form for Polling Place Plan.

   1. (1) The State Board shall:

      1. (a) Prescribe a form for a local board to use to provide a proposed polling place plan; and
      2. (b) Provide each local board with the form at least 9 months before a primary election.
   2. (2) Contents of Form. The form shall include questions related to whether the proposed polling place plan meets the requirements in §A of this regulation.
   3. (3) Form Submission. A local board shall submit the form at least 7 months before each Statewide primary election. Completion and submission of the form shall constitute fulfillment of a local board’s duty to submit a polling place plan pursuant to Election Law Article, §2-303.1(a), Annotated Code of Maryland.

3. C. Additional Information. For each polling place plan, a local board shall submit with the form required in §B of this regulation:

   1. (1) A Polling Place Selection Form;
   2. (2) The State of Maryland’s Accessibility Survey form for each polling place;
   3. (3) Documentation of the local board’s approval of the polling place plan;
   4. (4) A polling place diagram;
   5. (5) Photographs of the interior and exterior of each polling place; and
   6. (6) If required by §A(2) or (3) of this regulation, documentation to support the determination that all buildings that will no longer be used as polling places are no longer suitable to be used as polling places.

Authority: Criminal Procedure Article, §11-722; Election Law Article, §§1-101, 2-102(b)(4), 2-202(b), 2-303.1 and 10-101; Annotated Code of Maryland

Effective date:

Regulations .01—.08 adopted as an emergency provision effective July 1, 2000 (27:15 Md. R. 1398); adopted permanently effective October 16, 2000 (27:20 Md. R. 1844)

Regulation .02B amended effective October 19, 2009 (36:21 Md. R. 1595)

Regulation .06 amended effective October 19, 2009 (36:21 Md. R. 1595); June 25, 2012 (39:12 Md. R. 746)

Regulation .07C amended effective October 19, 2009 (36:21 Md. R. 1595)

Chapter revised effective February 29, 2016 (43:4 Md. R. 337)

Regulation .01 repealed and new Regulation .01 adopted effective November 27, 2023 (50:23 Md. R. 1005)

Regulation .01 amended effective November 24, 2025 (52:23 Md. R. 1140)

Regulation .02 repealed and new Regulation .02 adopted effective November 27, 2023 (50:23 Md. R. 1005)

Regulation .02 amended effective November 24, 2025 (52:23 Md. R. 1140)

Regulation .02B amended effective March 31, 2025 (52:6 Md. R. 269)

Regulation .03B, D amended effective December 12, 2022 (49:25 Md. R. 1053)

Regulation .04C, D amended effective December 12, 2022 (49:25 Md. R. 1053)

Regulation .07 repealed and new Regulation .07 adopted as an emergency provision effective July 18, 2022 (49:17 Md. R. 789); emergency expired December 1, 2022

Regulation .07 repealed and new Regulation .07 adopted effective December 12, 2022 (49:25 Md. R. 1053)