Educating yourself on the candidates so you can make an informed decision each election day is important, but equally important is educating yourself about voting itself - where and how to do so, and even how to apply to vote, or for an absentee ballot. This page is designed to answer questions about the electoral process you may have independent of any particular election. If there's some information about voting you'd like to know that's not covered here, please contact us at elections@gazette.net.

How to register to vote

How to register as a candidate

What an absentee ballot is, who can apply for one, how to apply for one

How to use Maryland's voting system (elections.state.md.us) - English | Español

Verify your voter registration and polling location in Maryland (mdelections.umd.edu)

Virginia optical scan voting machine demonstration (fairfaxcounty.gov) - English | Español

Virginia touch screen voting maching demonstration (fairfaxcounty.gov) - English | Español

Verify your voter registration and polling location in Virginia (voterinfo.sbe.virginia.gov)

Frequently asked questions

Maryland campaign finance website

How to use the Maryland campaign finance database

Virginia campaign finance website

Maryland's major political parties

Virginia's major political parties

State

Maryland Board of Elections

Virginia Board of Elections

County

Calvert, MD

Charles, MD

Fairfax, VA

Frederick, MD

Montgomery, MD

Prince George's, MD

St. Mary's, MD

Local municipalities

Fairfax County municipalities

Frederick County municipalities

Montgomery County municipalities

Prince George's County municipalities

Southern Maryland municipalities