Maryland Governor Election: Voter Turnout

Maryland's 2026 general election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 3, with early voting running Oct. 22–29. Online and mail registration has closed, but in-person registration remains available through early voting and on Election Day with proof of address. Mail-in ballot requests face late-October deadlines, and ballots must be postmarked by Election Day.

Gov. Wes Moore and Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller seek reelection against Republican, Green, and Working Class Party challengers. Attorney General Anthony Brown and Comptroller Brooke Lierman also defend their seats. All eight U.S. House seats and all 188 General Assembly seats are on the ballot. Voters will also weigh three constitutional amendments, most notably Question 3, which would clarify that redistricting rules apply only to state legislative maps, not congressional boundaries, amid a national gerrymandering debate.

Vice President JD Vance campaigned in Fairbanks on Monday for Senator Dan Sullivan, framing Alaska as a crucial firewall for Republicans as they fight to keep control of Congress in the November 3 midterms. Sullivan, a close Trump ally, faces a tighter-than-expected race against Democrat Mary Peltola, who is running on a "Fish, Family and Freedom" platform that casts Sullivan as too tied to Trump and outside interests. A recent New York Times poll showed Peltola with a lead, though the state's rural population makes polling difficult.

Vance and Trump have cast the midterms as a referendum on the administration, touring battleground and traditionally safe states alike. Sullivan has tied his campaign to energy policy, touting a $200 billion Alaska energy investment package backed by Trump, including a South Korea-linked pipeline project, and $150 million in newly announced federal funding for electrical transmission upgrades. He has also pushed for a ban on diesel exports as fuel prices climb amid ongoing global conflicts. Cost-of-living concerns remain central to the race in a state where energy costs run higher than the national average.

The Baltimore Sun and Capital Gazette have launched a voter guide ahead of Maryland's Nov. 3, 2026 general election, surveying nearly 500 candidates across major statewide and local races. The guide covers contests for governor, attorney general and comptroller, plus General Assembly seats and competitive county-level races for executive, council, school board, state's attorney and sheriff in the Baltimore area and in Wicomico and Worcester counties. Circuit court clerk, register of wills, and orphans' and circuit court judgeships are also on the 2026 ballot.

The questionnaire lets candidates describe their backgrounds, policy positions and platforms in their own words, including reflections on past decisions and where they diverge from their party base. The outlets say the project is intended to help voters compare candidates directly as the election cycle ramps up.

The guide underscores the scale of Maryland's 2026 down-ballot landscape, which includes several competitive executive and legislative races likely to draw attention from political forecasters and prediction markets tracking state-level outcomes.

A Maryland circuit court has ruled that a Democratic-backed constitutional amendment cannot appear on the November ballot, blocking a measure that could have let lawmakers redraw the state's congressional districts ahead of the 2028 elections. Anne Arundel County Judge Robert Thompson found lawmakers missed their own July 1 deadline for certifying ballot summaries, siding with Republican lawmakers and the conservative Oversight Project, which sued to stop the measure. The ruling is paused to allow an appeal to the state Supreme Court.

The amendment, pushed after Gov. Wes Moore called a special session, would have exempted congressional districts from compactness and "natural boundaries" rules, potentially letting Democrats target the Eastern Shore seat held by Republican Rep. Andy Harris. Democrats hold seven of Maryland's eight House seats. The decision follows a similar setback in Virginia and comes amid a broader mid-decade redistricting fight, spurred by Republican efforts backed by President Trump, that has also played out in California and Texas.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender, headlined the Democratic Party of Illinois' annual fundraiser at Navy Pier in Chicago, criticizing President Donald Trump and Republicans while rallying Democrats ahead of the midterm elections. Moore accused Trump's administration of "lining their own pockets" on issues including the Iran conflict and economic policy.

Moore, introduced by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker — who also has White House ambitions — recounted Pritzker's outreach after the 2024 collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, then drew parallels between Maryland and Illinois's civil rights legacies to applause from more than 800 attendees. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, and Senate nominee Juliana Stratton also spoke, with Durbin criticizing Trump's spending priorities.

The event underscores early jockeying among Democratic governors positioning themselves for 2028 while shoring up party support in battleground-adjacent states ahead of the midterms.

Michigan's next governor will confront a steep decline in reading proficiency, with just 38.2% of third graders meeting English language arts standards in 2026, down from roughly half in 2015. Republican John James and Democrat Jocelyn Benson both cite Mississippi's reading gains as a model and support evidence-based, phonics-focused instruction, but diverge on execution. James says existing education funding is sufficient if administrative waste is cut and redirected to classrooms; he also backs school choice and a constitutional amendment making the state superintendent report to the governor, plus an A-F school grading system. Benson wants a weighted school funding model, a $60,000 minimum teacher salary, expanded early childhood education, and targeted support for struggling schools rather than a focus on blame.
James and Benson both back science-based reading fixes for Michigan's literacy crisis but split sharply on funding and accountability.

Maryland's State Board of Elections has certified ballots for the 2026 general election, posting them online for public review. Registered voters have until the close of business on September 3 to seek judicial review of the certified ballots. Once that review period ends, the board will make any necessary changes before starting the ballot printing process.

State Administrator of Elections Jared DeMarinis called certification the first step in the electoral process and urged voters to make a plan ahead of Election Day. Maryland offers three voting methods: mail-in ballot, in-person early voting, or in-person voting on Election Day, which falls on November 3, 2026. The board is encouraging unregistered residents to sign up through its online system, which registered voters can also use to update party affiliation, name, or address.

Maryland's Tax Court has voided the state's first-in-the-nation digital advertising tax, ruling it violates the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act along with the First Amendment and the Constitution's commerce and due process clauses. The court ordered state officials to refund tax money already collected from Apple, Google and Peacock TV.

Enacted in 2021, the law taxed digital ad revenue at rates from 2.5% to 10% based on companies' global gross revenue, and was projected to raise roughly $250 million a year to help fund a major K-12 education initiative. Meta, Amazon and other tech firms challenged the law across multiple venues, and a federal appeals court previously struck down a provision barring companies from disclosing the tax to customers. Maryland's top Democratic legislative leaders said they disagree with the ruling and expect litigation to continue. The decision is being closely watched by other states weighing similar digital ad taxes.

The Justice Department has sued Anne Arundel County Public Schools in Maryland, alleging violations of federal parental-rights laws FERPA and PPRA over policies allowing staff to use students' preferred names and pronouns without notifying parents. The eight-count suit centers on a student identified as "Mary Doe," whose preferred male name was allegedly shared with other parents via a field-trip roster, while her own parents were denied access to related records. The district is also accused of questioning students individually about gender identity without parental consent and improperly sharing gender-related student data with state education authorities.

It is the administration's second such lawsuit, following a September case against Kansas City and Kansas schools, amid more than ten federal investigations into district transgender-student policies nationwide.