Municipalities - Election Dates - Reporting Requirements

Elections

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Delegate Palakovich Carr
Last action: 2026-05-12
Official status: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 471
Effective date: 2026-10-01

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Election Reporting for Municipalities

This law requires municipalities to report election dates and details about upcoming elections on their websites and to the State Board of Elections.

What This Bill Does

Requires each municipality to report the date of regular municipal elections at least six months before the election to the State Board of Elections.
Requires each municipality to report the date of special municipal elections within five business days after scheduling them.
Requires the State Board of Elections and local boards of elections to display information about upcoming municipal elections on their websites.
Requires municipalities with websites to prominently display details about upcoming regular and special municipal elections, including election dates and offices being voted on.
Requires municipalities to submit reports to the State Board after certifying election results, including the date of the next regular municipal election and a list of offices up for vote.

Who It Names or Affects

Municipalities that have websites
The State Board of Elections
Local boards of elections

Terms To Know

State Board of Elections: The state agency responsible for overseeing election processes.
Regular municipal election: A scheduled election held at a fixed time, such as every two years.

Limits and Unknowns

Does not specify penalties for non-compliance with reporting requirements.
The law only applies to municipalities that maintain websites.
It does not address how the State Board of Elections will handle municipalities without websites.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

623023/1

None

Favorable with Amendments { 623023/1 Adopted

Plain English: AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL 357 (First Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.

AMENDMENTS TO HOUSE BILL 357 (First Reading File Bill) AMENDMENT NO.
1 On page 1, strike beginning with “requiring” in line 3 down through “Elections;” in line 4; in line 4, strike “, each local board of elections,” and substitute “ of Elections”; and in line 6, after “websites;” insert “requiring each municipality to include the date of the next regular municipal election and each office to be voted on at the election in a certain report submitted to the State Board;”.
AMENDMENT NO.
2 On page 1, strike in their entirety lines 18 through 23, inclusive.

Bill History

2026-05-12 Post Passage
Approved by the Governor - Chapter 471
2026-04-09 Senate
Favorable Report by Education, Energy, and the Environment
2026-03-30 House
Returned Passed
2026-03-25 Senate
Third Reading Passed (47-0)
2026-03-22 Senate
Favorable Adopted
2026-03-22 Senate
Second Reading Passed
2026-03-15 Senate
Hearing 3/25 at 1:00 p.m.
2026-03-09 House
Favorable with Amendments Report by Government, Labor, and Elections
2026-02-28 House
Third Reading Passed (133-0)
2026-02-28 Senate
Referred Education, Energy, and the Environment
2026-02-26 House
Favorable with Amendments { 623023/1 Adopted
2026-02-26 House
Second Reading Passed with Amendments
2026-02-06 House
Hearing canceled
2026-02-06 House
Hearing 2/11 at 2:00 p.m.
2026-01-28 House
Hearing 2/11 at 1:00 p.m.
2026-01-19 House
First Reading Government, Labor, and Elections
Maryland General Assembly
Text - First - Municipalities - Election Dates - Reporting Requirements
Maryland General Assembly
Vote - House - Committee - Government, Labor, and Elections
Maryland General Assembly
Text - Third - Municipalities - Election Dates - Reporting Requirements
Maryland General Assembly
Vote - Senate - Committee - Education, Energy, and the Environment
Maryland General Assembly
Text - Chapter - Municipalities - Election Dates - Reporting Requirements

Official Summary Text

Requiring the State Board of Elections and each municipality that has a website to display certain information relating to municipal elections on their websites; and requiring each municipality to include the date of the next regular municipal election and each office to be voted on at the election in a certain report submitted to the State Board.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*hb0357*

HOUSE BILL 357
G1, L3 6lr1910

By: Delegate Palakovich Carr
Introduced and read first time: January 19, 2026
Assigned to: Government, Labor, and Elections
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
House action: Adopted
Read second time: February 26, 2026

CHAPTER ______

AN ACT concerning 1

Municipalities – Election Dates – Reporting Requirements 2

FOR the purpose of requiring each municipality to report municipal election dates to the 3
State Board of Elections; requiring the State Board, each local board of elections, of 4
Elections and certain municipalities to display certain information relating to 5
municipal elections on their websites; requiring each municipality to include the date 6
of the next regular municipal election and each office to be voted on at the election 7
in a certain report submitted to the State Board; and generally relating to the 8
reporting of election dates by municipalities. 9

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 10
Article – Local Government 11
Section 4–108.5 12
Annotated Code of Maryland 13
(2013 Volume and 2025 Supplement) 14

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 15
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 16

Article – Local Government 17

4–108.5. 18

(a) In this section, “State Board” means the State Board of Elections. 19

2 HOUSE BILL 357

(B) (1) NOT LESS THAN 6 MONTHS BEFORE EACH R EGULAR MUNICIPAL 1
ELECTION, THE MUNICIPALITY SHALL REPORT TO THE STATE BOARD THE DATE OF 2
THE ELECTION. 3

(2) WITHIN 5 BUSINESS DAYS AFTER A SPECIAL MUNICIPAL 4
ELECTION IS SCHEDULED, THE MUNICIPALITY SHALL REPORT TO THE STATE BOARD 5
THE DATE OF THE ELECTION. 6

(C) (B) (1) THE STATE BOARD SHALL PROMINENTLY DISPLAY ON THE 7
STATE BOARD’S WEBSITE: 8

(I) A LIST OF ALL UPCOMI NG REGULAR AND SPECIAL 9
MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS REPORTED UNDER SUBSECTION (B) (D)(2) OF THIS SECTION 10
THAT INCLUDES: 11

1. THE NAME OF THE MUNICIPALITY; 12

2. THE ELECTION DATE; AND 13

3. WHETHER THE ELECTION IS A REGULAR OR SPECIAL 14
MUNICIPAL ELECTION EACH OFFICE TO BE VOTED ON; AND 15

(II) A LIST INDICATING WHICH MUNICIPALITIES HAVE NOT YET 16
REPORTED UPCOMING RE GULAR AND SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS UNDER 17
SUBSECTION (B) (D)(2) OF THIS SECTION. 18

(2) EACH LOCAL BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL PROM INENTLY 19
DISPLAY ON THE LOCAL BOARD’S WEBSITE A LIST OF ALL UPCOMING REGULAR AND 20
SPECIAL MUNICIPAL EL ECTIONS IN THE COUNT Y REPORTED UNDER SUB SECTION 21
(B) OF THIS SECTION, INCLUDING: 22

(I) THE NAME OF THE MUNICIPALITY; 23

(II) THE ELECTION DATE; AND 24

(III) WHETHER THE ELECTION IS A REGULAR OR SPEC IAL 25
MUNICIPAL ELECTION. 26

(3) EACH MUNICIPALITY THA T MAINTAINS A WEBSIT E SHALL 27
PROMINENTLY DISPLAY ON THE MUNICIPALITY’S WEBSITE A LIST OF ALL UPCOMING 28
REGULAR AND SPECIAL ELECTIONS IN THE MUNICIPALITY, INCLUDING: 29

(I) THE ELECTION DATE; AND 30
HOUSE BILL 357 3

(II) WHETHER THE ELECTION IS A REGULAR OR SPEC IAL 1
MUNICIPAL ELECTION; AND 2

(III) EACH OFFICE TO BE VOTED ON. 3

[(b)] (D) (C) (1) The State Board shall, immediately after a municipality 4
submits its election results, publish the election results on the State Board’s website. 5

(2) The election results published under paragraph (1) of this subsection 6
shall be organized by election year and the name of the municipality. 7

[(c)] (E) (D) Within 30 days after the results of a municipal election are 8
certified, the municipality shall submit to the State Board: 9

(1) an electronic copy of the election results for each office or question voted 10
on at the election, including: 11

(1) (I) vote totals for each office or question reported separately by each 12
of the following voting methods, if applicable: 13

(i) 1. in–person early voting; 14

(ii) 2. mail–in voting or vote–by–mail; 15

(iii) 3. provisional voting; and 16

(iv) 4. in–person election day voting; and 17

(2) (II) if the municipality conducts partisan elections, the party 18
affiliation of each candidate; AND 19

(2) (I) THE DATE OF THE NEXT REGULAR MUNICIPAL EL ECTION; 20
AND 21

(II) EACH OFFICE TO BE VO TED ON AT THE NEXT R EGULAR 22
MUNICIPAL ELECTION. 23

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 24
October 1, 2026. 25