2026 Gubernatorial Primary Results Link

At it's October 16, 2025 meeting, the Charles County Board of Supervisors approved the recommended 2026 Election Plan.

The Charles County Board of Elections is committed to ensuring that all eligible voters in our community have fair and equal access to the polls. As part of this effort, we maintain a contact list of individuals and organizations who wish to be notified about local board meetings at which proposed changes to the locations of polling places will be discussed.

If you would like to be notified when the board will discuss polling place changes, fill out this form. You will be contacted at least one week prior to the meeting date.

LOCAL BOARD POLICY – 2026.1

SB670/HB1001 – Election Law Authority at Polling Places, Early Voting Centers, and Counting Centers

SB670/HB1001 was passed by the General Assembly during its 2026 session. Election Law §10-311
(c)(1)(III) states:

“A designating person shall submit a copy of the certificate of an accredited
challenger or watcher to the appropriate local board before the accredited
challenger or watcher may enter the voting room.”

It will be the policy of the Charles County Board of Elections to direct the Election Director to accept a certificate of an accredited challenger and watcher before 5:00 pm the day before each day of early voting or the day before election day. If the Election Director did not receive the certificate of an accredited challenger and watcher before 5:00 pm prior to each day of early voting or the day before election day, the chief judges at the early voting center or polling place will not permit access to the challenger/watcher to the voting location.

Public Notice of Risk-Limiting Audit

The Charles County Board of Elections will conduct a risk-limiting audit (RLA) of the 2026 Primary Election on July 17, 2026, at 10 a.m.

State law (Election Law Article 11-309 of the Annotated Code of Maryland) requires that election officials conduct a risk-limiting audit after each primary and general election. The Charles County Board of Elections will conduct the risk-limiting audit of the 2026 Primary Election on July 17, 2026, at 10 a.m. This audit will take one day to complete and will take place at the Charles County Board of Elections, located at 201 E. Charles Street, La Plata, MD 20646. The audit is open to the public. Members of the public must follow the Rules of Conduct for Post-Election Audit Observers and elections officials’ directions while observing the risk-limiting audit. The Charles County Board of Elections will manually tally a sample of votes cast for the Republican primary for governor and compare the results of the manual tally against the results from our voting system. This process will confirm the accuracy of reported results of the 2026 Primary Election. The State Board of Elections randomly selected the contest to be audited during this risk-limiting audit. After counties upload ballot spreadsheets into the open-source audit software tool that Maryland uses for risk-limiting audits – called Arlo – the State Administrator of Elections will generate a random 20-digit seed number during a live-streamed dice roll. The State Board of Elections will enter that seed number into the audit software, which will select a random list of ballot batches for local boards of election to retrieve and hand-tally. Members of the public will be permitted to review the final list of ballot batches chosen for audit by their identifying name or code numbers, and machine and hand counts of the votes in each chosen batch of ballots.

Rules of Conduct for Post-Election Risk-Limiting Audit Observers

Members of the public and media are encouraged to observe the Post-Election Risk-Limiting Audit process. During the audit, it is the responsibility of the local board of elections to maintain order and safeguard all records and documents. Please be mindful of the following rules of conduct for individuals observing the audit.

❖ Print your name on the sign-in sheet

❖ Direct all questions to the Election Director or his or her designee

❖ You may observe the audit teams sorting the ballots but must maintain a reasonable distance so as to not interfere with conducting the audit.

❖ Do not touch the ballots or other election documents

❖ Do not make excessive noises or cause distractions

❖ No food or drink are allowed in the auditing room

❖ Do not use cell phones or other audible devices in the auditing room

❖ If you have information that you believe should be considered by the Board of Elections, immediately notify the Election Director or his or her designee 

Board Meets Monthly on the 3^rd Thursday

Meeting dates & times are subject to change

Next meeting: July 16 at 9:00 a.m

Join the board meeting in-person at 201 East Charles Street, Second Floor, or view the meeting livestream on YouTube here.

Board Proceedings

The members of the public may address the Board on any item on this agenda. Pursuant to §3.2B of the Board’s bylaws, public participation at a meeting must be pre-scheduled and pre-approved by the Board President. To obtain approval to speak at a Board Meeting, please contact Wade Beswick at 301-934-8972 or by email wade.beswick@maryland.gov no later than 4:00 p.m. the day before the meeting.

Board of Supervisors

• Sharon L. Hancock - President
• NormaJean Gibson - Vice President
• Melanie Boston-Holland - Secretary
• Norris Hanes - Member
• Jacqueline Briscoe - Member
• Karen Selby - Board Attorney
• Wade Beswick - Election Director

Board of Supervisors - Bylaws

No Electioneering Zone Guide Maps Available

The Charles County Board of Elections is responsible for the establishment of No Electioneering Zones at each precinct polling location, pursuant to Maryland State Law. The boundaries should be clearly marked with signs that contain the words "No Electioneering Beyond this Point." The distance guidelines prohibit "electioneering" within 100 feet of the polls. Exit pollsters may be within the 100 feet of the "No Electioneering" boundary because they are not engaged in electioneering. Exit pollsters should not impede voter flow. Campaign signs may be displayed at polling locations outside the "No Electioneering" boundary at 5:00 PM today, Monday, 13 May, 2024. Candidates must remove signs from polling sites by 8:00 AM the next day after the closure of the site, Wednesday, 14 May, 2024. Political signs at all other locations must be removed in compliance with County sign regulations.

No Electioneering Zone Guides for each precinct in Charles county are available to view and/or download below. Please refer to these guides before installing campaign signage at a precinct.

Where Do I Vote?

To find where you vote on Election Day, please visit the Maryland State Board of Elections Voting Location Lookup page.

You can also call us at 301-934-8972, or email elections@charlescountymd.gov with any questions.

Available Online Resources

• Register to Vote
• Registering to Vote Using Motor Vehicle Administration Services
• Update Your Voter Registration Information
• 2026 Important Dates & Deadlines
• 2026 Candidate List
• Application for Voter Registration Data
• Signage at Early Voting Centers
• Voter Registration List Maintenance
• Election Results by Year
• Request Mail-In / Absentee Ballot
• Look up your Voter Registration
• COVID Health Resources (MD Department of Health)
• Rumor Control
• Who Are My Elected Officials?
• Judge Parity Report