Voter Information

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2020

  

Deadlines

  • To register to vote online is Tuesday, October 13, 2020
  • To register to vote by mail is (postmarked by) Tuesday, October 13, 2020
  • To register to vote in person is Tuesday, October 13, 2020
  • To request a ballot by mail is (received by) Tuesday, October 20, 2020
  • You can register to vote in-person on election day

Early Voting

The early voting period runs from Monday, October 26, 2020, to Monday, November 2, 2020, at the Cecil County Admin Building, 200 Chesapeake Boulevard, Elkton, Maryland 21921.

Ballot Dropbox Locations: Available by October 17

  • Cecil Administration Building – 200 Chesapeake Blvd, Elkton
  • Elkton High School – 110 James St, Elkton
  • Rising Sun High School – 100 Tiger Dr, North East
  • Perryville High School – 1696 Perryville Rd, Perryville
  • North East High School – 300 Irishtown Rd, North East
  • Bohemia Manor High School – 2755 Augustine Herman Hwy, Chesapeake City

 

More information: elections.maryland.gov/2020

Questions? – email vote@cecilsolidarity.org

A Look at Voter Suppression

From the 1890s to the 1960s, many state governments in the Southern United States administered literacy tests to prospective voters—making a person’s right to vote contingent on their ability to read and write. In practice, these tests were intended to disenfranchise racial minorities.
Voting as a Black person in the Jim Crow era of racial segregation was incredibly risky. White supremacist groups often intimidated Black communities, and sometimes lynched those who voted as an example.
Many southern states held separate primary elections, only open to white voters. These were not declared unconstitutional until 1944.
Soon after the 15th Amendment granted voting rights to African American men in 1870, many states imposed a fee, or poll tax on voting. The tax was to be paid in cash and created a substantial barrier for the poor. While technically it was race-neutral, a grandfather clause was instituted to exempt white men whose father or grandfather had qualified to vote before the Civil War.