2026 Midterms State GuideMaryland
Hold on to your Smith Island cakes and Old Bay Seasoning.
Polls are closed
Polls are closed in Maryland, and results aren’t finalized yet.
Ballots are still being counted, close races can take days to call, and no result is official until it’s certified.
A prayer for Maryland
Good Father, we pray for Marylanders as they prepare to vote. Thank You for the privilege voters have to cast their vote for the good of the Old Line State. Sharpen their attention, help them see the ballot with Your eyes, and help them vote with both conviction and humility.
Read the whole prayerUpdated
Hi! It’s me, Shadrach. Apparently, I’m your civic guide today. If you’ve been complaining about how things are going (and I’ve heard you... the walls are thin), this guide will help you feel informed and able to vote in this year’s midterms. Now, hold on to your Smith Island cakes and Old Bay Seasoning, and let’s get into it.
Maryland at a glance
Maryland votes on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, for governor, all 8 U.S. House seats and three statewide ballot measures.
- Election Day
- Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026
- Voter registration
- Oct. 13 (5 p.m.): Voter registration deadline (in-person registration still available)
- Early voting
- Oct. 22 to Oct. 29: Early voting period, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Governor
- 4 candidates
- U.S. House
- 8 seats
- Statewide ballot measures
- 3
What happens next
The counting continues
Election-night numbers are unofficial. Mail, provisional, and military ballots are still being counted, so close races can take days to call.
- Nov. 13 (10 a.m.)Deadline for mailed ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 to arrive.
Officials double-check the count
Local election officials review the ballots and the tallies (the canvass). A very close race can go to a recount.
Maryland certifies the results
Results become official once Maryland certifies them, usually a few weeks after Election Day.
Winners take office
The new Congress takes office in early January. Governors and other state officials take office on dates set by state law, most of them in January too.
Important dates
- June 23Primaries This date has passed.
- Oct. 13 (5 p.m.)Voter registration deadline (in-person registration still available) This date has passed.
- Oct. 22 to Oct. 29Early voting period, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. This date has passed.
- Oct. 27Deadline to request mail-in ballots This date has passed.
- Nov. 3Election Day, polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mail-in ballot deadline is 8 p.m. This date has passed.
- Nov. 13 (10 a.m.)Deadline for mailed ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 to arrive This date has passed.
What’s at stake
Affordability is top of mind for voters in the Old Line State. A 2026 UMBC Institute of Politics poll found 33% of Marylanders ranked cost of living, affordability, or prices as the #1 issue facing the state today, followed by taxes, spending, or state budget (15%); politicians, Trump, federal government, or state government (15%); and economy or jobs (8%). Roughly seven in ten say groceries, gasoline, and electric bills are less affordable now than a year ago, and half of voters said they are “very” or “extremely” worried about healthcare and medical costs.
Who’s on your ballot
Tap a race to see the candidates.
Maryland is choosing a governor
See whose priorities line up with yours
Here are the top priorities each candidate lists, in their own words. Pick the 3 that matter most to you. Names stay hidden until you see your results.
0 of 3 picked
Wes MooreDemocratincumbent
Top accomplishments (cited by their campaign)- Growing Maryland's economy, with more than 55,000 new businesses created since he took office
- Reducing violent crime, including a 44% drop in homicides and 40% drop in nonfatal shootings
- Investing a record $10.2 billion in K-12 public education this year
- Top priorities
Dan CoxRepublican- Cutting taxes and fees, including lowering corporate and income tax rates to 4.9%
- Lowering electricity costs by bringing power plants back online and pursuing nuclear and natural gas
- Starting construction on the Key Bridge immediately by emergency order
- Top priorities
Andy EllisGreen Party- Stopping new data centers to protect Maryland communities, water and public health
- Opening elections to independent and third-party voters through electoral reform and public financing
- Raising taxes on high earners and corporations and creating a public state bank
- Top priorities
Cathy WhiteWorking Class Party- Building a working-class political organization independent of both major parties
- Addressing jobs, low wages, inflation and the cost of child care and elder care
- Opposing the war in the Middle East, which she says benefits only billionaires
All U.S. House of Representatives seats are up for election every two years. Find your district here.
- Shadrach’s big picture
Marylanders will elect eight candidates to represent them in the U.S. House. Democrats are expected to hold seven of those seats; a Republican is expected to hold the other.
- Open seats
One: MD-5 is open because incumbent Rep. Steny Hoyer (D) is retiring.
- Competitive districts
No Maryland district is considered competitive. MD-1 is ranked solidly Republican, and MD-2 through MD-8 are ranked solidly Democratic. Candidates from both parties filed to run in all eight districts, so no district is guaranteed to either party.
Statewide ballot measures
3 to read before you go. Tap one to open it.
This amendment requires the Governor's budget to fully fund state employee union contracts (think: pay, hours, and benefits) once they're agreed to or settled by a neutral decision-maker, and sets up a process where, if the state and unions can't reach a deal on their own, that decision-maker's ruling is final.
Voting yessupports requiring the Governor’s budget to fully fund state employee union contracts once they are agreed to or settled, and making a neutral decision-maker’s ruling final when the state and unions can’t reach a deal.Voting noopposes this constitutional amendment, keeping the current process, where a stalled negotiation goes to a fact finder whose recommendations are advisory only, and the Governor decides how much of a contract to fund in the budget.This amendment authorizes the chair of the Commission on Judicial Disabilities to appoint former members to temporarily fill empty seats or allow the governor to appoint a substitute member or extend the term of an existing member.
Voting yessupports letting the commission’s chair appoint former members to temporarily fill empty seats, or letting the governor appoint a substitute member or extend a current member’s term.Voting noopposes this constitutional amendment, keeping the current rule, where a substitute member can be named only by the Maryland Supreme Court with the written consent of the judge whose case the commission is hearing.This amendment concerns redistricting (the process of drawing boundary lines that change how people vote). Maryland's constitution currently requires legislative districts to be compact, contiguous (all connected), roughly equal in population, and to respect city/county lines. This amendment would rule that those requirements would apply only to state legislative districts, not congressional ones, meaning the state constitution would no longer set any standard at all for how congressional district lines are drawn. It would also let the legislature give the Maryland Supreme Court the power to be the first (rather than the last) court to hear legal challenges to congressional maps.
Voting yessupports applying the constitution’s district requirements (compact, contiguous, roughly equal in population, respecting city/county lines) only to state legislative districts, leaving no constitutional standard for congressional maps, and letting the legislature send challenges to congressional maps straight to the Maryland Supreme Court.Voting noopposes this constitutional amendment, keeping the constitution’s district requirements as they are, with no carve-out for congressional districts, and keeping the Maryland Supreme Court as the last court to hear challenges to congressional maps.
Also on the ballot
Other races Maryland voters will decide.
- Lieutenant Governor
- Attorney General
- Comptroller
- State Senate
- State House
- State Supreme Court
- Intermediate appellate courts
- School boards
- Municipal government
Whose job is it?
Ten things government does. Tap the office that does each one.
Whose job is it to…
1 of 10
Declare a state of emergency after a hurricane or flood?
Pass it on
Know someone voting in Maryland?
Send them the guide. It takes one tap, and it saves them an evening of arguing in a group chat.
A prayer for Maryland
Good Father, we pray for Marylanders as they prepare to vote. Thank You for the privilege voters have to cast their vote for the good of the Old Line State. Sharpen their attention, help them see the ballot with Your eyes, and help them vote with both conviction and humility.
May candidates campaign with integrity. Remind them that the office is not a mere prize to be won, but a profound responsibility to steward carefully. If they win, surround them with wise counsel and guide them toward decisions that serve their constituents. For those who lose, bring comfort and give them grace for their actions.
Draw near to all Marylanders tempted toward anxiety, anger, or despair. Guard their hearts with a peace that this political moment cannot give. No candidate or ballot decision usurps Your sovereignty or thwarts Your good purposes.
Amen.