30 minute read
Black Facts
OCT. 8 1941 – The Rev. Jesse Jackson, famed civil rights leader, is born in Greenville, South Carolina. 1992 – Sir Derek Walcott, Saint Lucian poet and playwright, wins the Nobel Prize in literature. 2004 – Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan environmental and political activist, becomes the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
SOURCE: BLACK AMERICA WEB
OCT 8 - 14, 2020
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OCT. 9 1806 – Benjamin Banneker, famed African-American astronomer, scientist, almanac author and surveyor, dies in Baltimore County, Maryland, at age 74.
OCT. 10 1901 – Frederick Douglass Patterson, founder of the United Negro College Fund, is born in Washington, D.C. 1917 – Groundbreaking jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk is born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
OCT. 11 1887 – Black inventor Alexander Miles receives patent for automatic opening and closing elevator door. 1991 – Iconic comedian Redd Foxx (right), best known for his starring role in the ‘70s sitcom “Sanford and Son,” dies in Los Angeles at 68 of a heart attack.
OCT. 12 1932 – Social activist and comedian Dick Gregory (top) is born in St. Louis. 1999 – Basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain dies in his Bel Air, California, home of a heart attack at age 63.
OCT. 13 1898 – Lawyer and judge Edith S. Sampson, the first Black U.S. delegate appointed to the United Nations, is born in Pittsburgh. 1926 – Jesse L. Brown, the first African-American aviator in the U.S. Navy, is born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. 1970 – Famed political activist Angela Davis is arrested in New York City and charged with unlawful flight to avoid persecution for her alleged role in a California courthouse shootout.
ANGELA DAVIS
OCT. 14 1834 – Maryland-born Henry Blair patents the corn planter, becoming the second-ever African-American inventor to receive a patent. 1919 – Famed Black activist Marcus Garvey is shot inside his Harlem office, wounded in his leg and scalp. He recovers, but his assailant, who claimed he was sent to shoot Garvey by the district attorney, died a day later after jumping 30 feet from a jailhouse window. 1964 – Martin Luther King Jr. is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent resistance to racial inequality in America. WI
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BY SARAFINA WRIGHT
President Donald Trump’s announcement that he has tested positive for COVID-19 has caused widespread speculation about when he was diagnosed and the president’s true condition, as doctors caring for him send out mixed messages. What are your thoughts?
BREE BRANCH /
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA He’s hardheaded. He wouldn’t listen to medical personnel explaining how important it is to wear a mask. So now he wants sympathy a month before the election. He won’t get it from me!
CANDICE HARDING /
WASHINGTON, D.C. He may survive it, then succumb to comorbidity. Many survive then die of stroke, heart attack or lung failure later. What a time to be getting rid of preexisting condition coverage in the Affordable Care Act.
CYNTHIA CAMPBELL /
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA A ploy for sympathy votes! I don’t believe it. I wonder do his nurses have to wear the same mask until its dirty due to supply constraints? IF YOU WANT QUALITY WORK, JUST CALL!
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ROBERT TURNER /
CLEVELAND, OHIO So check out the game — Trump tested positive for the coronavirus all of a sudden. You see he doesn’t want to get back on stage with Joe Biden, so he is going to use that as an excuse from debating. Watch him pull that card.
SHIRL DIX /
WHITESVILLE, VIRGINIA I’m just waiting for the okey-doke. I may be wrong, but I honestly believe this is a well-orchestrated ruse. He’s totally desperate at this point. His poll numbers suck, the tax leak got him in panic, he doesn’t want to go up against Biden again. The handwriting is on the wall. So what better time and distraction than this?
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The Truth, the Whole Truth – Blacks, Latinos Share an American Horror Story
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been fascinated with historical narratives – not revisionist or redactions but commentaries that reveal the truth – the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Ironically, the more I have studied and with each academic degree I have secured, what I’ve discovered is how often American history is told with calculated and numerous inaccuracies, invalid assumptions and outright lies.
Still, given the hard work I’ve put in during my sojourn along academia’s hallowed pathways and through its almost impenetrable portals, I have come to realize that there’s one important narrative to which I should have paid far greater attention but failed to do so. That story is the collective history of African Americans and Latinos whose people, despite being citizens, have suffered similar, if not identical, forms of injustice, bigotry and hatred on the shores of America – simply because of the color of their skin or the languages and traditions that have long defined them as ethnic groups.
The great abolitionist Frederick Douglass, while speaking to a group of so-called liberal-minded men and women in Boston in 1862, stepped up to the podium before his audience of Northerners who probably expected him to berate the Confederate states. After all, according to the story we’ve always been told, it was the refusal of those in the South to relinquish their addiction to slavery and its inhumane methodology that had been one of the key reasons for the Civil War.
Instead, Douglass demanded that Northerners admit the role they had played in the catastrophe that nearly destroyed America. He showed his listeners that while they sought to maintain their innocence, that they had been willing participants in a country whose history was defined by decades of settler colonialism, corruption, the promotion of slavery and the support of imperialism.
It was Douglass’s determination to show Americans who they really were and his incisive attacks on the republic’s most sacred “myths” that often resulted in instances of physical violence from the hands of outraged spectators who did not want to or could not admit the truth.
In this 21st century, while white America would rather “revise” the history of their progenitors, the real stories behind the challenges and hardships encountered by African Americans and Latinos reflect far more commonalities than differences.
We have similarly been ridiculed because of our religious beliefs, our skin colors, our languages, our ways of rearing our children, our perceptions of nature and how we envision our relationship to the world and to one another. We have been refused service in America’s public spaces and public institutions. We have been denied the right to vote, the right to equal education, fair housing and equal access to business opportunities. We have been attacked, raped, beaten, lynched, murdered and falsely imprisoned. We have been forced to accept the crumbs from America’s table while presenting ourselves in such a manner that would indicate our gratitude for the few morsels and table scraps that white America has thrown our way.
But because I have been so overwhelmed with proving that I, as a Black man, am just as competent and qualified as any white man, I have paid scant attention to the problems that my Latino brothers and sisters have also endured – often overcoming.
I believe that was the intention of the Founding Fathers and those who have come after them and benefited most in our country for one reason and one reason alone: the color of their skin. Thus, if we can be distracted and if we fail to recognize how combining forces would be mutually and eternally beneficial to Blacks and Latinos, then we will never commit ourselves to a new mindset based on solidarity.
Maya Angelou often said in her poem “Human Family” that we are more alike than unalike. Her words, since I first had the privilege to read them and embrace the truth they reveal, have remained forged in my spirit and emblazoned upon my soul.
We are indeed “more alike than unalike.”
Perhaps if we can embrace this truth and begin to reform our stories into one narrative unfettered but falsehoods and without the filters that blind us from the truth, then maybe we, all of us, shall truly overcome and gain our rightful and hard-earned place in America’s history.
WI
Braveboy Leads Voter Initiative in Prince George’s By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill
Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy wants to ensure voter intimidation doesn’t take place in the majority Black jurisdiction during the general election.
Her office launched “Operation Protect the Vote for All” which focuses on making sure vulnerable populations such as senior citizens, immigrants and those in the LGBTQ community aren’t intimidated and can vote.
The push comes as President Donald Trump continues to claim voting by mail would be “a disaster” and encouraging his supporters to man polling places during in-person voting in states with early voting and Election Day on Nov. 3.
“We want every single Prince Georgian to know we care about them,” Braveboy said during a press conference Sept. 30. “Voter intimidation is actually a crime. We work along with the [Maryland] Office of Attorney General to prosecute those who violate our election laws in Maryland.”
According to state law, a person found guilty of voter intimidation through “the use of force, threat [or] menace” can be fined up to $2,500 and serve up to five years in prison.
The Voting Rights Alliance, comprised of legislators, activists and nonprofit organizations, highlights more than six dozen forms voter suppression. Some of them include persons impersonating a law enforcement or immigration official; voter challenges at polls; and disparate racial treatment at the polls.
In Prince George’s, residents voting by mail can drive to a polling site and place a ballot inside a drop-off box. Security personnel such as a county sheriff will be stationed nearby to make sure they aren’t compromised.
Another part of Braveboy’s voter plan is to help make sure vulnerable populations, such as immigrants, aren’t intimidated and can vote.
Maryland residents must register to vote by Tuesday, Oct. 13 and request mail-in ballots by Oct. 20.
“It’s important for our country to get out and vote like your life depends on it,” said Austin Martinez,
5 Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy speaks at a press conference Sept. 30 outside the Circuit Courthouse on a voting initiative. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
an activist from Hyattsville.
Another part of Braveboy’s plan will determine which of the estimated 500 people currently housed in the county jail are eligible to vote.
The plan to help those incarcerated comes after several criminal justice and voting advocates began work this summer on a similar voting initiative.
At least three organizations – Out For Justice, Common Cause Maryland and the ACLU of Maryland – compiled a list of those incarcerated from the majority of correctional facilities in the state’s 24 counites.
Then each list got sent to the state board of elections, which mailed off voter information packets to each jail that included a cover letter explaining voter eligibility, a mail-in ballot application and a pre-addressed stamped envelope.
According to state law, people ineligible to vote are those convicted of a felony and currently serving a court-ordered sentence; anyone convicted of buying or selling votes; and “under guardianship for mental disability and the appropriate court has found by clear and convincing evidence that you cannot communicate, with or without accommodations, a desire to participate in the voting process.”
Except for buying or selling votes, a person on probation can vote, according to the law.
Incarcerated individuals charged with misdemeanor offenses and those held on pretrial status are eligible to vote.
Aside from not fully explaining the election law for those incarcerated, Nicole Hanson-Mundell, executive director for Out for Justice of Baltimore, said “an execution plan” wasn’t presented by state election officials to ensure those incarcerated in the county will vote.
“When our elected officials decide to engage in performance politics, let’s make sure the people we are actually here to serve…are going to get accurate information,” she said. “What is frustrating for us is how long it took for individuals to speak out about this issue.”
Out For Justice, an advocacy group comprised of formerly incarcerated individuals which led the statewide voting effort plan, joined other organizations in a Sept. 10 letter that notes recommendations for state election officials to follow so that everyone eligible votes.
One suggestion calls for the state to provide secure boxes of voter forms and ballots.
One will be provided at the county jail, said Monica Roebuck, a member of the county’s board of elections.
In addition to serving on a voter protection committee with the Maryland Democratic Party, she assisted state Sen. Cory McCray (D-Baltimore City) with his voting efforts for city jails in Baltimore that are managed by the state. McCray is first vice chair of the party.
“Even for those people who have not been in jail and served time, this is an important job to make sure that everyone in our society has the right to vote,” Roebuck said. “Voting empowers you. You feel like, ‘Wow, I have some power over my own destiny.’ You are exercising your constitutional right.” WI
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AROUND THE REGION Norton Meets with D.C. Latino Leaders that were 65 percent Latino and 15 percent African American but because By James Wright to make ends meet and living in the get what they need as far as housing, stopped with the schools closing.” WI Staff Writer District is so expensive, but they are food and employment.” Medrano said the Gala Theatre’s @JamesDCWrighter really trying to do what they can.” Reyes-Yanes thanked Norton and her Zoom program have had a lot of sucKokkoros said despite the economic staff for the effort to ensure an accurate cess but worries about Latinos in the
Some of the leaders of the District’s challenges confronting her parents and count in the Latino community. Norton creative fields. Latino-oriented organizations met students by the coronavirus pandemic, responded by stressing the importance “We employ Latino artists for our with D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Nor- education remains a priority. of census efforts, saying the District has productions but with the pandemic, ton on Oct. 1 to articulate their con- “We are a school for adults and they become the second most undercounted they don’t have anywhere to work,” she cerns about housing, education and want an education,” she said. “We jurisdiction in the country. said. “These are youths who are giving employment for D.C. residents. work largely with the immigrant com- Rebecca Read Medrano, co-founder the money they earn to their mothers.
Norton said hearing the anxieties of munity and we have 2,000 students. and executive director of the Gala His- We need those jobs to come back.” District Latinos will give her a better Our students are determined to learn panic Theatre, told Norton her organi- Medrano said despite the challenges, sense of what their needs are. and about 75 of them are looking at zation has suffered economic loss and the Gala Hispanic Theater “is here to
“We’re now in Hispanic Heritage higher education.” that “half of our season is lost” due to stay” and “we want people to know we Month, which makes it an especially Abel Nunez, executive director of the pandemic. are here.” Norton, after the hour-long appropriate time to hear from Latino the Central American Resource Cen- “We are a small, nimble organization session, said she was both pleased and leaders in D.C.,” she said. “I started ter, agreed with Kokkoros on housing, and we have had to take risks,” Medra- concerned about what she heard. the Latino Council in 2009 to draw a saying the situation with many families no said. “We have had to shift to vir- “It is great to have this council,” the more coherent and extensive agenda to serve my Hispanic constituents, who has become dire. “Some landlords are already going tual programming. We used to have a vibrant program serving 20,000 youths delegate said. “They keep me informed on what is going on.” WI 5 Eleanor Holmes Norton represents D.C. in the U.S. Congress. (WI File come from many backgrounds and to court,” Nunez said. “After the pubdiverse needs. I’m very grateful to the lic emergency, we know the landlords distinguished members of our Latino are going to find ways to get tenants to Council to serve.” pay up the rent that they owe quickly
Census data shows 11.3 percent or they will work to get their tenants of the District’s population consists evicted. We are trying to get the word of Latinos, people of Central and out in the community that as tenants, South American descent. Latinos live they do have rights and through our throughout the District but have a housing services program, which instrong presence in neighborhoods such cludes tenant education, assistance and as Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, advocacy, we can help them stay in Petworth and Mid-16th Street. Hous- their homes.” ing has become a concern for Allison Jackie Reyes-Yanes serves as the exR. Kokkoros, the CEO of Carlos ecutive director of the Mayor’s Office Rosario International Public Charter on Latino Affairs. Reyes-Yanes said the School. Bowser administration understands
“There are concerns about evictions the struggles many Latinos are going once the mayor lifts the public emer- through and has been proactive in gency,” Kokkoros said. “Because some solving problems. people have lost their jobs, they cannot “We operate seven days a week,” she pay rent and they are making it so far said. “We work with a number of food because of the eviction moratorium banks in the city, have actively encourbut we know things will get bad when aged Latinos to participate in the centhe moratorium is lifted and the back sus and we have a summer youth prorent is due. Parents are really struggling gram. We want to make sure Latinos
DC PRISON from Page 1 land, has distributed a newsletter to a growing number of D.C. inmates serving time at nearly two dozen federal institutions across the U.S. Additionally, he continues to focus on the restoration of voting rights for D.C. inmates.
“When I first heard about [inmates getting their voting rights restored], I thought how powerful it would be for the community,” Wilkins said while sharing his apprehension about FBOP’s cooperation throughout the process.
“There’s potential for corruption like with anything else. I don’t know how [the FBOP] would safeguard it. You’ve got hundreds D.C. inmates on any compound which means a lot for those candidates in at-large and mayoral races at the least.”
A second emergency police reform bill approved by the D.C. Council in July included legislation that restored voting rights for District residents imprisoned in the FBOP for a felony offense. This milestone placed the District alongside Maine and Vermont as the only U.S. states or jurisdictions allowing incarcerated people to vote. of COVID-19, our programming
DC PRISON Page 38
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY Sean Urbanski a day before he was convicted Dec. 18. 2019 by a state circuit court jury of first-degree murder. Prince George’s State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy led the statewide effort to strengthen the statute. The previous law forced prosecutors to prove a hate crime occurred as the sole motivating factor. “My office has an interest in the students ensuring we are training new lawyers. Hopefully new prosecutors,” she said. “One day, maybe someone BSU, UMD Create from this alliance will want to take over my position. I won’t be here for5 Bowie State University President Aminta H. Breaux and University of Maryland President Darryl J. Pines announce an initiative to promote social justice on both Social Justice Alliance ever.” As part of the social justice procampuses in honor of Lt. Richard Collins III. (Screen grab: Bowie State University) gram, both schools will host seminars The 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III ter for Cyber Security and Emerging By William J. Ford a white student. Collins, posthumous- each semester, infuse social justice in Foundation will also be a part of the Technologies, which provides research WI Staff Writer ly promoted to first lieutenant by the the education curriculum and orga- social justice program with its mission in computer and cyber defense. @jabariwill Army, was to graduate the following nize an annual symposium. to promote civic engagement. The University of Maryland serves week from Bowie State. Bowie State will house a Social Jus- The foundation plans to award as the state’s flagship institution with
Two Maryland universities will “I don’t believe there is enough in- tice Alliance “safe space” for faculty, scholarships for ROTC students about 41,000 students (30,000 unwork to combat racism, economic di- formation out there that raises aware- staff and students to house conversa- who attend the state’s four historically dergraduate students). Besides housvision and other social ills on its cam- ness and what’s happening out there tions on social justice topics. Black college and universities. A Bow- ing one of the top athletic programs puses that could spread throughout in our communities,” said Bowie State Although students are geared to ie State ROTC cohort received the in the Big Ten Conference, the school Prince George’s County. President Aminta H. Breaux. “These lead discussions and certain projects foundation’s first scholarship awards received a $31 million gift from alum-
Bowie State University and Uni- are issues that citizens across this coun- at their respective schools, they will in December. nus Brendan Iribe for scholarships and versity of Maryland will form a Social try are facing each and every day.” receive assistance from alliance coor- Both campuses located in northern a new computer science building. Justice Alliance, named after Army Lt. Announcement of the initiative dinators Kimetta Hairston, associate Prince George’s hold some history in However, the predominately white Richard Collins III. Thursday, Oct. 1 coincided with the professor of education at Bowie State, Maryland. institution experienced some racial
Collins, 23, was stabbed to death in effective date of a Maryland hate crime and Georgina Dodge, vice president Bowie State remains the state’s old- history when students and faculty May 2017 on the University of Mary- statute named after Collins. A judge for diversity and inclusion at Mary- est HBCU established in 1865. One found white supremacist fliers the land campus while visiting friends by dismissed a hate crime charge against land. of its recent achievements is a Cen- same year of Collins’ death. Also in 2017, a noose was found inside a fraReport Highlights Health Disparities in Prince George’s ternity house. University of Maryland president
By William J. Ford of programs and policies spreads to Darryl J. Pines, who became president in July, said students filled out a
WI Staff Writer three of the county’s nine districts. climate campus survey to gauge the @jabariwill In comparison, Baltimore Coun- feelings of students on campus. He ty spent $45; Anne Arundel Coun- also said the school updated its student
A $543 million regional hospital ty $91; Howard County $109; and code of conduct to address hate crimes anticipated to open next year in Montgomery County $224. and banned symbols of hate on cam-
Largo seeks to help decrease health “That speaks volumes to the high pus buildings.ailments such hypertension, obesi- need in this county,” Prince George’s “It’s always a continuing endeavor to ty and high blood pressure, chal- council member Deni Taveras improve campus culture and climate,” lenges that affected Prince George’s (D-District 2) of Adelphi, said Friday, Pines said. “We are now working very
County before the coronavirus arrived in Maryland’s majority Black jurisdiction. Oct. 2. “We need to figure out a way to invest much better.” Taveras’ predominately Latino dis5 Drivers line up in their vehicles to await free coronavirus testing at the Hyattsville vehicle emission station that opened May 22. (FILE: Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer) closely with Black student leaders on campus to address additional concerns. I think you will see a number
A report compiled by the Rand trict not only has 26 percent of resi- fill out an online form to receive free The Rand Corp., a nonprofit of improvements in the next year…for
Corp. of Arlington, Va., highlights dents uninsured, but also a teen birth condoms and other resources. organization which conducts na- every [person] on the campus.”some of those health challenges rate more than double the county rate. According to the Centers for Dis- tionwide and international public Pines said the school continues a such as the rate of emergency room Besides Prince George’s continuing ease Control and Prevention in 2018, policy, summarized how over- plan to build a memorial on the camvisits for Black and Latino children to record the highest number of con- the District recorded the highest rate crowded housing, limited primary pus in honor of Collins.with asthma more than quadruples firmed COVID-19 cases in the state of HIV diagnoses in the country at care physicians and lack of men- Rick and Dawn Collins, parents that of white children. exceeding 30,000, the 20783 zip 39 per 100,000 people. Maryland tal health and behavioral services of the dead man, acknowledged both
Although the uninsured rate for code in Taveras’ district has the most ranked sixth at 16.5. also contribute to Prince George’s school presidents, Braveboy and stucounty residents decreased from cases among zip codes in Maryland. “Because there is such a strong re- health challenges. dents who helped the family.15 percent in 2009 to 11 percent The designation includes parts of ligious presence in Prince George’s, The report offers some recom- “I just want to thank all of the in 2018, Prince George’s continues Adelphi, Beltsville and Langley Park. that detracts from having the hard mendations such as: wonderful people that walked with to have the highest rate in the state. She suggested the county invest in conversations that need to be had • Create a health and human us along this journey,” Collins’ father
One of the most startling statis- a similar program called “sex positive” regarding protective care around sex,” services plan; said. “This has been an incredibly tics: the county spent $39 per per- at www.sexualbeing.org in neighbor- Taveras said. “People can try and • Invest in data tracking for emotional and painful, but yet purson in health and human services in ing D.C. The initiative managed by push abstinence all they want, but “whole health,” or assess the spend- poseful work. We’re hopeful and we’re fiscal year 2018. According to the report, the agency’s “current reach” the city’s Department of Health encourages residents to take HIV tests, that’s not the reality of what’s happening.” HEALTH Page 13 eager to get this started and move this process forward.” WI
HEALTH from Page 12
ing in each county agency and department; • Require each agency to analyze budgets that advance health and well-being; and • Agencies establish a checklist on whether all residents have access to healthy food, promote health equity, access to safe and affordable housing and job training programs to sustain a livable wage.
It also noted the reallocation of funds within a department based on equity can improve health disparities.
Based on a recommendation from County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, the County Council approved to move $20 million from the police department capital budget to build a mental health and substance structure. However, voters must give the final approval as part of a public safety bond question on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
Anita Chandra, a senior policy researcher for Rand, said Friday that Prince George’s and other officials nationwide must assess how to manage funding in a different manner.
Chandra, who co-authored the report, said critical care remains an integral part of health care.
However, she said about 80 percent of a person’s health is determined by the environment.
“We have made progress here and there, but it is absolutely not enough,” she said. “You could double down in making sure you’ve got the best pandemic preparedness plan for the future, or you can actually take a look at what COVID revealed. Look at those social inequities and say, ‘not again.’”
When the County Council sits as the District Council to review landuse and zoning matters, council member Jolene Ivey (D-District 5) of Cheverly said, that the body can help control large development.
“We need to use that power to improve communities for the people who live there,” she said. “At the moment, we are having very serious financial challenges. We just have to get through this and have a focus on a vision for the future. We’re going to get out of this. It won’t last forever.”
WI
Our Civic Recovery
Everyone knows that politics is a blood sport full of acrimony and intrigue. Unfortunately, in this blood sport, personal attacks are the norm casting opponents in unflattering terms. This, of course, pushes aside what is most important, the issues; and what most matters to voters-improving our quality of life. Voters, in fact, are spectators in an arena where they do not matter with the intent of keeping them ill-informed instead of being engaged.
With a month away of making choices that will impact a generation, we are left with name calling and rudeness. Name calling that is disrespectful and rudeness violating every creed that we teach our children. The question that must be asked is: “how did we get here?”
Suggest we got here because of our indifference. For what has been and is at stake, we remain in a posture of indifference and ignorance. Reports cite that 60% read only the newspaper headlines with only 24% going into any depth. Meaning, that politicians and other pundits know that you only care about surface news crafting their message to whet your appetite. This gives the allusion of being informed, when, in fact, you barely understand the depth of any issue.
We must demand more! Demand that we must be informed over being entertained. Demand that we get unbiased reporting over needless commentary. Further demand civility over combative discourse! Demanding a different climate and dialogue will, hopefully, motivate us to vote and make informed choices. This may be aspirational, but for the sake of our democracy- we must demand better!
To all those running for office, for our civic recovery- engage in an informed debate that advances our democracy not embarrass it.
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2020 Presidential General Election
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Step 2:
LOOK OUT FOR YOUR BALLOT
You can track your ballot application status online. Ballots will begin arriving in early October. Step 3:
COMPLETE YOUR BALLOT & SIGN THE ENVELOPE
Follow the instructions.
Step 4:
RETURN YOUR BALLOT BY NOVEMBER 3
Return your completed ballot to an official election drop
box by 8pm on November 3
or postmark by November 3.
or vote in-person
EARLY VOTING October 26–November 2
7am–8pm
ELECTION DAY November 3
7am–8pm
Learn more about registering, requesting a ballot, or in-person voting options at
ELECTIONS.MARYLAND.GOV/2020
