§ 9-210. Arrangement of ballots; candidates and offices
West's Annotated Code of MarylandElection LawEffective: December 14, 2022
Effective: December 14, 2022
MD Code, Election Law, § 9-210
Formerly cited as MD CODE Art. 33, § 9-210
§ 9-210. Arrangement of ballots; candidates and offices
(a) The offices to be voted on shall be arranged on the ballot in the following order, as applicable:
(b) Any office not specified in subsection (a) of this section shall be placed on the ballot following the offices specified in subsection (a) of this section.
(c) Within any category of offices, if the ballot contains one or more contests for at large election and one or more contests for election by district, the contest or contests to be voted on at large shall appear first.
(d) In a prominent position adjacent to the title of each office, there shall be instructions stating the number of candidates for whom the voter lawfully may vote.
(e)(1) A ballot shall contain the name of every candidate who is authorized under the provisions of this article to appear on the ballot.
(f)(1) In a general election, the voter shall be afforded the opportunity to cast a write-in vote for as many positions as are to be filled in a contest.
(g)(1) Except for contests for judicial office or an office to be filled by nonpartisan election, the party affiliation of a candidate who is a nominee of a political party shall be indicated on the ballot.
(h) In an election of a member of the House of Delegates that is subject to the provisions of § 2-201(d) of the State Government Article, the name of a candidate shall be identified by the county in which the candidate resides.
(i)(1) If there is an election for members of the House of Delegates who are required to live in a specific county and only a certain number of delegates may be elected from that county, the ballot shall provide that a voter may not vote for more than that number of candidates from that specific county.
(2) In a legislative district where the delegates are to be elected by the voters of a multimember subdistrict that contains more than two counties or parts of more than two counties, a voter may cast a vote for the specified number of delegates to be elected in the subdistrict without regard to the county of residence of the candidate.
(j)(1) In a primary election:
(i) on a voting machine ballot, the names of the candidates of a political party shall be grouped together in adjacent rows or columns, and the majority party candidates shall be placed in the first row or column, followed by the candidates of the principal minority party, followed by other political parties in descending order based on the number of voters registered with the party, and finally by candidates not nominees of a political party; and
(ii) on a document ballot, for each office the names of candidates shall be grouped together by party, with the majority party candidate or candidates listed first, followed by the candidate or candidates of the principal minority party, followed by the candidate or candidates of other political parties in descending order based on the statewide registration of the party, and finally by candidates who are not nominees of a political party.
(3) In both primary elections and general elections, when there is more than one candidate of the same political party for nomination or election to an office, the names of the candidates in the group shall be listed in alphabetical order by surname. In the primary election, candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be arranged in the order of surnames of the gubernatorial candidates.
Credits
Added as Art. 33, § 9-210, by Acts 1998, c. 585, § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 1999. Amended by Acts 2000, c. 523, § 2, eff. July 1, 2000; Acts 2001, c. 29, § 1, eff. April 10, 2001. Transferred to Election Law § 9-210 by Acts 2002, c. 291, § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2003. Amended by Acts 2002, c. 291, § 4, eff. Jan. 1, 2003; Acts 2010, c. 72, § 5, eff. April 13, 2010; Acts 2017, c. 107, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2017; Acts 2023, c. 49, § 6.
Formerly Art. 33, § 9-210.
MD Code, Election Law, § 9-210, MD ELEC LAW § 9-210
Current through legislation effective through April 9, 2023, from the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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