Maryland’s voter rolls have been pulled into the national spotlight, as federal agencies and outside groups seek unprecedented access to sensitive voter information. Now, the U.S. Department of Justice is suing to obtain Maryland's unredacted voter rolls.

With so much confusion surrounding this issue, it’s important for Marylanders to understand how our state updates, verifies, and removes voter records under federal and state law.

How Maryland Maintains Its Voter Registration List

Maryland’s voter registration list is maintained according to procedures set by the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and Maryland state law. These laws specify which data sources can be used to change or cancel a voter’s registration — and when and how voters must be notified if their registration is affected.

The Maryland State Board of Elections (SBE) receives data from several Maryland agencies, court systems, and other states. This information is added to and processed through MDVOTERS, the state’s centralized voter registration database. 

Maryland is also a member of the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a nonprofit partnership that helps states keep voter rolls up to date by securely sharing voter registration and Department of Motor Vehicle data to identify potential address changes, duplicate records, and deaths.

How Voter Records Are Updated or Removed

  • Moves to Another State: If a person registers to vote in a different state, Maryland is notified and the relevant  Local Board of Elections (LBE) cancels their registration. This data is shared daily.
  • Deceased Voters: The Maryland Department of Health sends monthly death records to SBE. Voter registrations are cancelled within five business days, and no additional verification required.
  • Felony Incarceration: In Maryland, you cannot vote while serving a sentence for a felony conviction, but individuals may re-register after their sentence is complete. SBE receives notifications of felony convictions from two sources. 1) Maryland state courts, and 2) Federal courts.
  • Maryland state courts: SBE receives notifications of state court felony convictions each month from the Administrative Office of the Courts. This data is loaded in MDVOTERS, and affected voters are notified and given two weeks to respond and appeal. If they don’t respond, their registration is canceled.
  • Federal Courts: SBE periodically receives notifications of felony convictions from Federal courts. Federal courts send this data via paper form to SBE, and it is forwarded to the Local Boards for action. The affected voters are notified by the LBEs and given two weeks to respond and appeal. If they don’t respond, their registration is canceled.
  • Returned Mail: Returned mail from the U.S. Postal Service is processed according to NVRA procedures, with actions based on the information provided on the USPS “yellow” return sticker. LBEs often receive returned mail daily, and follow-up steps help verify address information when an automatic update isn’t possible, such as out-of-county post office boxes, last-name-only labels, or out-of-state returns.
  • Address & Name Changes: Name and address change data is periodically received from the Circuit Courts. If the new address is within Maryland, the voter’s registration will be updated. If the new address is out-of-state, the voter will be contacted. No response within 14 days can result in their registration being moved to Inactive status.
  • Jury Commissioner Data: Data is received quarterly from jury commissioners, and includes address updates, notices of death, and identification of non-citizens. This data is added to the MDVOTERS database, and LBEs take appropriate action.
  • Non-Citizens: Voters flagged as non-citizens are sent a letter. If they respond with a signed statement confirming U.S. citizenship, their registration status is restored. If there’s no response within 14 days, the record is cancelled and referred to the Office of the State Prosecutor.

These safeguards are designed to keep voter rolls accurate while protecting eligible voters’ rights.

This overview is based on information published by the Maryland State Board of Elections (SBE), which administers Maryland’s voter registration system and oversees voter list maintenance statewide.

For more detail straight from election officials, visit SBE’s official page on voter registration and list maintenance.