Bowie Board of Elections recommends return to paper ballots, fewer polling places for 2027 election

The City of Bowie Board of Elections on July 14 recommended that the city return to paper ballots for all voters in the 2027 election, consolidate polling places, and keep in-person polling rather than adopt a full mail-in model.

The board's chair, Yolanda Jones, told the council the panel's package of recommendations includes preprinted paper ballots scanned into tabulation machines, use of ADA-compliant ballot-marking devices that print a voter's ballot for scanning, continued use of electronic poll books, and a reassessment of current polling locations. "The board recommends a return to paper ballots for all voters, not just absentee voters," Jones said, describing the ballot-marking and scanning workflow the board prefers.

Jones said the board is recommending reducing polling places from eight to four 'provisionally one per council district'pending final site and accessibility assessments. The board also recommended that the candidate filing period open May 1, 2027, and close…