Section 9-210 - Arrangement of ballots - Candidates and offices.
§ 9-210. Arrangement of ballots - Candidates and offices.
(a) Offices - Order of precedence.- The offices to be voted on shall be arranged on the ballot in the following order, as applicable:
(1) public offices for which voters of the entire State may vote, in the following order:
(i) President of the United States, or President and Vice President of the United States;
(ii) Governor and Lieutenant Governor;
(iii) Comptroller;
(iv) Attorney General; and
(v) United States Senator;
(2) Representative in Congress;
(3) members of the General Assembly of Maryland, in the following order:
(i) Senate of Maryland; and
(ii) House of Delegates;
(4) members of the governing body of a county, in the following order:
(i) county executive; and
(ii) county council or county commissioner;
(5) offices in the government of the City of Baltimore, in the following order:
(i) Mayor;
(ii) President of the City Council;
(iii) Comptroller; and
(iv) member of the City Council;
(6) judicial offices, in the following order:
(i) judge of the circuit court;
(ii) appellate judges, continuance in office, in the following order:
1. Court of Appeals; and
2. Court of Special Appeals;
(7) public offices for which the voters of a county may vote, in the following order:
(i) county treasurer;
(ii) State's Attorney;
(iii) clerk of the circuit court;
(iv) register of wills;
(v) judge of the orphans' court;
(vi) sheriff; and
(vii) other offices filled by partisan election;
(8) party offices; and
(9) offices filled by nonpartisan election.
(b) Other offices.- Any office not specified in subsection (a) of this section shall be placed on the ballot following the offices specified in subsection (a).
(c) At large candidates listed first.- Within any category of offices, if the ballot contains one or more contests for at large election and one or more contests for election by district, the contest or contests to be voted on at large shall appear first.
(d) Instructions as to number of candidates to vote for.- In a prominent position adjacent to the title of each office, there shall be instructions stating the number of candidates for whom the voter lawfully may vote.
(e) Names of candidates.-
(1) A ballot shall contain the name of every candidate who is authorized under the provisions of this article to appear on the ballot.
(2) Each candidate shall be listed on the ballot in the contest for which the candidate has qualified.
(f) Write-in votes.-
(1) In a general election, the voter shall be afforded the opportunity to cast a write-in vote for as many positions as are to be filled in a contest.
(2) On a document ballot, in each contest a blank line or lines for write-in voting shall follow the printed names on the ballot.
(3) This subsection does not apply to questions or the continuance in office of appellate judges.
(g) General elections - Party designation.-
(1) Except for contests for judicial office or an office to be filled by nonpartisan election, the party affiliation of a candidate who is a nominee of a political party shall be indicated on the ballot.
(2) (i) A candidate who is not a nominee of a political party or affiliated with a partisan organization shall be designated as an "unaffiliated".
(ii) A candidate who is affiliated with a partisan organization shall be designated under "other candidates".
(3) The names of candidates for judge of the circuit court or for a county board of education, and the names of incumbent appellate judges, shall be placed on the ballot without a party label or other distinguishing mark or location which might indicate party affiliation.
(h) Residence of candidates.-
(1) In an election of a member of the House of Delegates that is subject to the provisions of § 2-201(d) of the State Government Article, the name of a candidate shall be identified by the county in which the candidate resides.
(2) A candidate for President of the United States or Vice President of the United States shall be identified by the state in which the candidate resides.
(i) Election of resident delegates.-
(1) If there is an election for members of the House of Delegates who are required to live in a specific county and only a certain number of delegates may be elected from that county, the ballot shall provide that a voter may not vote for more than that number of candidates from that specific county.
(2) In a legislative district where the delegates are to be elected by the voters of a multimember subdistrict that contains more than two counties or parts of more than two counties, a voter may cast a vote for the specified number of delegates to be elected in the subdistrict without regard to the county of residence of the candidate.
(j) Arrangement by political party.-
(1) In a primary election:
(i) on a voting machine ballot, the names of the candidates for party nomination shall be grouped together by party; and
(ii) on a document ballot, the ballot shall include only the names of candidates for which the voter is entitled to vote.
(2) In a general election:
(i) on a voting machine ballot, the names of the candidates of a political party shall be grouped together in adjacent rows or columns, and the majority party candidates shall be placed in the first row or column, followed by the candidates of the principal minority party, followed by other political parties in descending order based on the number of voters registered with the party, and finally by candidates not nominees of a political party; and
(ii) on a document ballot, for each office the names of candidates shall be grouped together by party, with the majority party candidate or candidates listed first, followed by the candidate or candidates of the principal minority party, followed by the candidate or candidates of other political parties in descending order based on the statewide registration of the party, and finally by candidates who are not nominees of a political party.
(3) In both primary elections and general elections, when there is more than one candidate of the same political party for nomination or election to an office, the names of the candidates in the group shall be listed in alphabetical order by surname. In the primary election, candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be arranged in the order of surnames of the gubernatorial candidates.
(k) Arrangement of voting machine ballot - Compactness.- On a voting machine ballot, the arrangement shall use the smallest number of rows or columns necessary, as evenly sized as possible, to accommodate all offices and candidates on the ballot.
[An. Code 1957, art. 33, § 9-210; 2002, ch. 291, §§ 2, 4.]