Skip to Main Content

Student Voters

This page has information about voter registration and voting when you are in college.

Can I Register to Vote in Maryland?

Yes if you are:
  • A U.S. citizen;
  • A Maryland resident and
  • At least 16 years old

However, you cannot register to vote if you:

  • Have been convicted of buying or selling votes
  • Are under guardianship for mental disability and found by a court to be unable to communicate a desire to vote or
  • Are in jail for a felony conviction

What Is My Residential Address?

For college students, your residential address can be your home address or your school address.

Your residential address is the address that you consider home. This is usually - but not always - the address you use most frequently on tax returns, government documents, driver's license, bank accounts, credit cards, insurance, and so forth.

If you live on campus and give a campus address as your residential address, be sure to list your dormitory and room number. A PO Box is not a residential address.

Your residential address is important since that address determines which candidates and ballot questions will be on your ballot.

What Is My Mailing Address?

Your mailing address is where election materials will be mailed. It does not impact the candidates and ballot questions on your ballot.

We can mail election materials - including ballots - anywhere in the world. For example, you may list your parents’ home as your residential address, but a campus address or other PO Box at college as your mailing address.

What If I'm From Out-of-State?

You may remain registered at your home address, or you may register at your school address, depending on which address you consider to be your residential address. If you want to remain registered in your home state while you attend school in Maryland, contact your state’s election office to update your registration information and request an absentee ballot.

What If I Study Abroad?

You should update your mailing address. You can do this online or contact your local board of elections.

If there is an election when you are abroad, you can still vote. You must ask for a mail-in ballot. We can mail your ballot to your address abroad or you can download your ballot from our website.

Anything Else I Should Know?

You can only be registered to vote at one address, and you can only vote once in an election. Voting twice is a felony. Keep this in mind when deciding if you want to list your home or school address for your voter registration. If you receive two ballots, vote only one.

If you were previously registered in another state, cancel your registration in that state when you register in Maryland.

Residency requirements for voting are not the same as residency for in-state tuition purposes. If you receive financial aid that depends on where you live, you should verify with the appropriate authority whether using your school address as your residential address impacts your financial aid.