SB 525
Department of Legislative Services
Maryland General Assembly
2021 Session
FISCAL AND POLICY NOTE
Third Reader - Revised
Senate Bill 525 (Senator McCray)
Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Judiciary
Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and State Board of
Elections- Centralized Booking Facility - Ballot Drop Box
This bill requires the Baltimore City centralized booking facility to provide a secure,
designated ballot drop box – provided by the State Board of Elections (SBE) and paid for
by the State – for eligible voters incarcerated in the facility to easily submit absentee ballot
applications, absentee ballots, and voter registration forms to SBE or a local board of
elections. The local board of elections for Baltimore City must (1) collect the
election related materials from the ballot drop box and distribute them to SBE or the
appropriate local board of elections in a timely manner and (2) annually report specified
information on the materials submitted to the ballot drop box.
Fiscal Summary
State Effect: General fund expenditures increase by approximately $2,000 in FY 2022.
Any future year costs are not expected to be significant. Revenues are not affected.
Local Effect: Baltimore City expenditures increase by approximately $2,000 annually,
beginning in FY 2022. Revenues are not affected.
Small Business Effect: None.
Analysis
Bill Summary: The bill requires the Baltimore City centralized booking facility to
(1) provide a secure, designated ballot drop box, from SBE, to eligible voters so that they
may easily submit absentee ballot applications, absentee ballots, and voter registration
forms to SBE or a local board of elections; (2) monitor the ballot drop box 24 hours a day
and seven days a week; and (3) disseminate written notifications directly to each eligible
voter on how and when to use the ballot drop box. The facility must cooperate fully with
SBE in implementing the bill’s requirements.
“Eligible voter” means an individual who is incarcerated at the Baltimore City centralized
booking facility and has the right to vote under State law. “Baltimore City centralized
booking facility” means the centralized booking facility in Baltimore City that is operated
by the Division of Pretrial Detention and Services in the Department of Public Safety and
Correctional Services (DPSCS).
SBE must provide the Baltimore City centralized booking facility with (1) the ballot drop
box and the above-mentioned written notification materials to disseminate to eligible voters
and (2) advice and guidance in carrying out the bill’s requirements of the facility. The State
must pay for the ballot drop box.
SBE must adopt regulations in collaboration with DPSCS to provide the ballot drop box
and written notifications. SBE must provide the ballot drop box to the Baltimore City
centralized booking facility in time to allow eligible voters sufficient opportunity to submit
election-related materials before any election-related deadlines.
The local board of elections for Baltimore City must provide staff to collect
(1) election-related materials submitted to the ballot drop box on at least a weekly basis
and (2) the ballot drop box after an election-related deadline. The local board must
distribute the election-related materials collected from the ballot drop box to SBE or
another local board, as appropriate and in a timely manner.
By January 1 each year, the local board of elections for Baltimore City must submit a report
to specified legislative committees on the election-related materials submitted to the ballot
drop box, specifically (1) the number of absentee ballot applications received and accepted;
(2) absentee ballots received and accepted; and (3) other election-related materials
received. The information must be disaggregated by each weekly collection from the ballot
drop box and by SBE or the local board that is the intended recipient of the materials.
Current Law:
Voter Registration
Under State law, with certain exceptions, an individual may register to vote if the individual
is a citizen of the United States, is at least age 16, and is a resident of the State as of the
day the individual seeks to register. A person who has been convicted of a felony and is
SB 525/ Page 2
currently serving a court-ordered sentence of imprisonment for the conviction is not
qualified to be a registered voter.
An individual may apply to become a registered voter through a number of means including
(1) visiting an election board office; (2) by mail; (3) when applying for services at a voter
registration agency (specified public and nongovernmental agencies designated by SBE,
including agencies providing public assistance and services for individuals with
disabilities, public higher education institutions, military recruiting offices, and one-stop
career centers in the Maryland Department of Labor); (4) during an applicable transaction
at automatic voter registration agencies, which are the Motor Vehicle Administration, the
Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, local departments of social services, and the
Mobility Certification Office in the Maryland Transit Administration; (5) through SBE’s
online voter registration system; or (6) at an early voting center or an election day polling
place in their county of residence.
Absentee (Mail-in) Voting
An individual may vote by absentee (mail-in) ballot except to the extent preempted by
federal law. An absentee ballot may be requested in writing (there are State and federal
forms that can be used) or online through the SBE website. The voter may choose to receive
the ballot by mail, by fax, through the Internet, or by hand at a local board of elections
office. The voter may return the ballot by (1) mailing it, postmarked on or before
Election Day or (2) delivering it in person to an early voting center or to the local board of
elections or an Election Day polling place by the close of polls on Election Day.
State Fiscal Effect: General fund expenditures increase by approximately $2,000, in
fiscal 2022, to install a ballot drop box (or boxes) at the Baltimore City centralized booking
facility. While the bill refers to a single ballot drop box being provided at the facility,
DPSCS indicates that multiple smaller drop boxes in different areas of the facility may be
a better option, logistically, to provide eligible voters access to a ballot drop box. Whether
a single, larger ballot drop box is provided at the facility, or multiple, smaller ballot
drop boxes, the cost of the ballot drop box (or boxes) is expected to be, at most, in the range
of $2,000. Any ongoing costs to implement the bill are not expected to be significant.
Local Fiscal Effect: Baltimore City expenditures increase by approximately $2,000
annually, beginning in fiscal 2022, for personnel and mileage costs to manage the
collection of election-related materials from the ballot drop box (or boxes) at the
Baltimore City centralized booking facility.
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 Additional Information
Prior Introductions: None.
Designated Cross File: None.
Information Source(s): Baltimore City; Department of Public Safety and Correctional
Services; State Board of Elections; Department of Legislative Services
Fiscal Note History: First Reader - February 17, 2021
rh/hlb Third Reader - March 30, 2021
Revised - Amendment(s) - March 30, 2021
Analysis by: Scott D. Kennedy Direct Inquiries to:
(410) 946-5510
(301) 970-5510
SB 525/ Page 4


Statutes affected:
Text - First - Baltimore City - Centralized Booking Facility - Voting Information and Early Voting Polling Place: 2-501 Correctional Services, 3-102 Correctional Services, 10-301.2 Correctional Services, 2-021 Correctional Services
Text - Third - Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and State Board of Elections- Centralized Booking Facility - Ballot Drop Box: 2-501 Correctional Services, 1-303.1 Election Law, 21-257 Election Law, 3-102 Election Law, 10-301.2 Election Law, 2-021 Election Law