The Montgomery County Board of Elections has approved the county’s high schools as locations for voting centers for the Nov. 3 election, according to Gilberto Zelaya, the board’s public information officer.
The list includes Montgomery Blair High School, 51 University Blvd. E., and Northwood High School, 919 University Blvd. W.
In addition, the board approved 11 locations for early voting, including the Silver Spring Civic Building; the State Board of Elections also has approved these locations, Zelaya wrote in an email to the Source.
Early voting will be held daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Oct. 26 through Nov. 2. The BOE also plans to put drop boxes for absentee/mail-in ballots at each early voting location, as well as each voting center, ideally as soon as three weeks before the election.
The board also asked the state to provide enough drop boxes to serve the additional locations, along with the Executive Office Building, the Board of Elections, the Rockville Municipal Building and Leisure World (for residents only).
Zelaya said the board hoped to hear about a decision regarding the additional drop boxes following the state board’s next meeting; there is conference call scheduled for Friday, Aug. 28.
In the absence of precinct voting locations, any registered voter may vote at any voting center. In addition to the early voting centers and the high schools, the county BOE recommended establishing a voting center for Election Day at the White Oak Community Recreation Center and the Nancy H. Dacek North Potomac Community Recreation Center.
Voters who would like to vote absentee or by mail will need to request that a ballot be sent to them, which can be done online. The board strongly suggests requesting an official ballot to be mailed, rather than downloading and printing one, as that will save time counting ballots.
Graphic from Flickr user Alan Cleaver, used with permission