Md. Code Regs. 33.01.07.03

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 22, November 1, 2024

Section 33.01.07.03 - Duties of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services

A. Ballot Drop Box. The Department shall:

(1) Make the ballot drop box provided by the State Board available to eligible voters at the Baltimore City centralized booking facility;

(2) Make any additional ballot drop boxes provided by the Department available to eligible voters in the correctional facility operated by the Department where the additional ballot drop boxes are located;

(3) Provide for video monitoring of all ballot drop boxes 24 hours a day and 7 days a week;

(4) Allow eligible voters to submit election-related material in the ballot drop box where they are incarcerated;

(5) Notify the State Board and the appropriate local board of elections if a ballot drop box becomes full or is damaged or compromised in any way; and

(6) Disseminate written notifications directly to each eligible voter on how and when to use the ballot drop box in the correctional facility where they are incarcerated.

B. Notification of Eligible Voters. The Department shall:

(1) No later than February 1 in a gubernatorial election year or December 15 in the year preceding a presidential election year, forward to the State Board the number of eligible individuals currently in custody at each correctional facility operated by the Department;

(2) No later than July 1 of each even-numbered year, forward to the State Board the number of eligible individuals currently in custody at each correctional facility operated by the Department;

(3) In the event of a special election, no later than 60 days before the deadline to register to vote for the special election, forward to the State Board the number of eligible individuals currently in custody at each State facility;

(4) Upon receipt of voting information packets from the State Board, distribute the packets to the eligible individuals in a timely manner, even if an eligible individual was not included in the original count of eligible individuals forwarded to the State Board;

(5) Store any extra voting information packets that remain after distribution in a secured location;

(6) Notify the State Board immediately if a facility needs additional voting information packets;

(7) Process and deliver to the USPS all outgoing election mail placed in the normal outgoing mail receptacle in a timely manner, so as to not delay the arrival of election mail; and

(8) Allow designated election officials to empty any ballot drop boxes provided by the State Board on a mutually agreed upon schedule.

C. Notification of Released Eligible Voters. The Department shall:

(1) Provide each individual who is released from a correctional facility with a voter registration application and documentation with the individual's discharge papers that informs the individual that the individual's voting rights have been restored or are otherwise intact;

(2) At each parole and probation office, display in a conspicuous location where notices to the public are customarily posted a sign indicating that any individual who is no longer incarcerated has the right to vote; and

(3) Post in a conspicuous location on the Department's website a notice indicating that any individual who is no longer incarcerated pursuant to a felony conviction has the right to vote.

D. Required Reporting. No later than January 15 of each year, the Department shall provide to the State Board a cumulative list of the prior year's eligible voters at each correctional facility operated by the Department.

Md. Code Regs. 33.01.07.03

Regulation .03 adopted effective 49:15 Md. R. 740, eff. 7/25/2022