Email Archives
2020 Voting Process; COVID-19 Testing
Date Sent: September 28, 2020
Dear Neighbor: I hope this finds you well and safe. I see that many of you have taken the opportunity to get outside and enjoy the lovely fall weather.
2020 Voting Process & Options. Sarah Wolek, who serves on the MCDCC, and Elizabeth Kellar prepared the useful summary below of the new 2020 Voting options and locations:
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We know that Bannockburn residents are engaged in their community and understand the importance of the upcoming election. Therefore, instead of making a case for voting, we want to share information on how to vote. Please review the dates below and follow the embedded links for more information.
Remember, you won’t be voting at Bannockburn Elementary School this year on November 3rd. But you can deposit your mail-in ballot in a secure drop box at Walt Whitman High School (the closest drop box to Bannockburn) starting October 1st. (For those of you who just can’t wait, drop boxes have been open at the County’s Board of Elections in Gaithersburg, and in Rockville at the City of Rockville Municipal Building and the Montgomery County Executive Building.)
Or you can choose early voting (and on Election Day) in-person at the Jane E. Lawton Community Recreation Center (the closest voting center to Bannockburn), which is located at 4301 Willow Lane in Chevy Chase and is open from 7 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., October 26 – November 1. These are the closest locations to Bannockburn.
If you would like a list of other sites where you can vote early in-person, or drop off a ballot (if you prefer not to mail it), please visit https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Elections/dropbox.html and https://mcdcc.org/earlyvoting.
Up to 40 vote centers are expected to be open in Montgomery County for in-person voting.
Don’t forget: For mail-in ballots, be sure to sign your name to the oath and date your signature on the back of the return voted ballot envelope. Sign only the envelope; do not sign the ballot. Use a black or blue ink pen. Election workers plan to canvass votes delivered to drop boxes throughout October to keep up with the anticipated volume of ballots. Bipartisan teams of election workers will empty the secure drop boxes twice a day. The drop boxes themselves are under surveillance 24/7. This means that early votes, drop box votes, and Election Day votes can all be reported when the polls close on November 3rd.
We encourage you to map out how you plan to vote and then reach out to your friends and family to check-in on their plans. This is going to be a very unique election cycle due to COVID-19 and the stakes are extremely high. Let’s have our voices heard and have an amazing “turnout” from our neighborhood!
Key dates to keep in mind:
August 24: Vote-by-mail ballot applications automatically mailed to registered voters.
September 18: Vote-by-mail ballots automatically mailed to military/overseas registered voters.
September 24: Vote-by-mail ballots mailed to domestic Maryland voters who filled out and mailed in their applications. This includes Maryland-resident voters, out-of-state college students, and other Maryland voters temporarily residing in other states. Mailing of ballots continues until the vote by-mail ballot application deadline on October 20.
If you did not receive a mail-in-ballot application, go to the Maryland Voter Registration site. To check on the status of your vote-by-mail ballot application, click here, enter the requested information to look up your voter record, then select “status of my mailed-in or provisional ballot.”
October 1: Vote-by-mail official Board of Elections ballot drop boxes open widely around Montgomery County. Click here for a complete list of ballot drop box locations. https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Elections/dropbox.html. Additional drop box locations are expected to be added through the month of October.
October 13: Online voter registration deadline. In Maryland you can also register and vote the same day during early voting or on Election Day. Check here to see what documents you will need to bring. https://elections.maryland.gov/voter_registration/index.html?eligibility. Look up your voter registration here: https://voterservices.elections.maryland.gov/VoterSearch. Find out how to register to vote here: https://mcdcc.org/register.
October 26 – November 2: Early in-person voting begins. Find early voting locations here. https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Elections/Resources/Files/pdfs/PollingPlaces/Polling%20Place%20List%202020/2020%20VC%20%26%20EV%20Ctrs_Alpha_General.pdf.
October 27: Last day to mail in your ballot if using the post office.
November 3: Election Day.
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COVID-19 testing. This is a reminder that Montgomery County offers testing to all residents who think they may have been exposed to COVID-19, or who need testing to meet work requirements. Testing is free. Residents are strongly encouraged to schedule testing appointments; however, anyone who needs a test will receive one. Free testing will be offered on Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Wheaton Library and Community Recreation Center and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Mid-County Community Recreation Center in Silver Spring. You can call the testing helpline 240-777-1755 to make an appointment or make an appointment on line: https://montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/testing/appointments-en.html. See the full list of testing options on the County’s Department of Health and Human Services webpage: https://montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/testing.html.
We must all continue to abide by public health guidelines, including practicing physical distancing, wearing face coverings inside stores and businesses and whenever social distancing isn’t possible, and avoid unnecessary travel to parts of the country where COVID-19 rates are higher.
Stay well and safe. Best Wishes,
Ted Garrett,
BCA President