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Special Congressional District 7 Election Information

APRIL 28, 2020

There was a special general election in Maryland’s 7th Congressional District to fill the remainder of Congressman Elijah Cummings’ term of office.

ELECTION CALENDAR

See the 2020 Special Election calendar (PDF) here

ELECTION STATISTICS

See various election statistics on our press room page

ELECTION RESULTS

General Election

Official 7th Congressional District Special General Election Results

Primary Election

Official 7th Congressional District Special Primary Election Results

Election Data Files for the 7th Congressional District Special Primary Election

Post-Election Audit

Information regarding the 2020 Congressional 7 Special Election post-election audits

How to Vote:

There were three ways to vote in the special general election:

VOTE BY MAIL

To slow the spread of COVID-19, all voters in the 7th Congressional District were strongly encouraged to vote by mail. The process was secure and the most effective way to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

To ensure everyone has an opportunity to vote, all voters in the 7th Congressional District received a mail-in ballot.

IN-PERSON VOTING

To ensure that all voters have an opportunity to vote, there were three in-person voting locations on April 28, 2020 for voters to cast their ballots. These locations were open from 7 am to 8 pm.

The locations of the vote centers were:

For Baltimore City voters who live in the 7th Congressional District

Edmondson High School
501 N. Athol Avenue
Baltimore, Maryland 21229

For Baltimore County voters who live in the 7th Congressional District

Martin’s West
6817 Dogwood Road
Windsor Mill 21244

For Howard County voters who live in the 7th Congressional District

Howard County Fairgrounds
2210 Fairgrounds Road
West Friendship 21794

ABSENTEE VOTING

If voter preferred to receive a ballot electronically, they called or emailed their local board of elections and asked that their ballot for the special general election for the 7th Congressional District be sent electronically. When their ballot was ready, they received an email with a link to their ballot. They printed their ballot and mailed or returned it to their local election office.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  1. What is the difference between a “vote by mail ballot” and an “absentee ballot”?

    None. The content of the ballot is the same, and the process of voting and returning the ballot is the same.

    We use the term “vote by mail ballot” to describe a ballot that is sent automatically to voters. All voters in the 7th Congressional District will receive a “vote by mail” ballot. We will mail the “vote by mail ballot”

    We use the term “absentee ballot” to describe a ballot that is requested by a voter. In this election, a voter who wants a ballot mailed to a different address or wants to download the ballot from our website needs to let us know. We will treat this as an “absentee ballot” for tracking purposes.

    For voters, there’s no difference between a “vote by mail ballot” and an “absentee ballot.”

  2. How do you stop people from voting twice?

    We use electronic pollbooks, tablet-like devices, to check in voters. The information in the pollbooks show who has already returned a voted ballot. If a voter who has already returned a voted ballot appears to vote, the voter will vote a provisional ballot and that ballot will be rejected. This type of process has been in place since 2006 when we first started using electronic pollbooks.

    We share with law enforcement information about voters who try to vote more than once. If found guilty of voting twice, a voter may have to pay a $5,000 fine and/or serve 5 years in jail.

  3. How do you make sure that only eligible voters vote in this election?

    Ballots will only be sent to voters who are eligible to vote in this election. Ballots are sent by non-forwardable mail; if the voter doesn’t live at the address we have on file, the ballot will be returned to the local board of elections.

    Individuals who are not registered to vote will not receive a ballot in the mail, but they can go on election day to a voting location and register and vote. The verification process for individuals who register on election day is the same for individuals who register at other times and in other ways.

SAMPLE BALLOT

View a sample of the Special General Election Ballot (PDF)

INFORMATION ABOUT THE 7TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

The 7th Congressional District includes parts of Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Howard County. There are approximately 510,000 registered voters in the 7th Congressional District. Almost half of the voters in the 7th Congressional District live in Baltimore City (214,000 voters). Approximately 142,000 voters in this district live in Baltimore County, and approximately 127,000 live in Howard County.

Voter registration and other data related to the special election for the 7th Congressional District is available in our Press Room.