Annapolis election officials outline 2025 mail‑in changes, canvassing timeline and ballot rules

Miss Leahy, chair of the Board of Supervisors of Elections, told the Annapolis City Council at a Feb. 20 virtual work session that several code changes and administrative steps will affect how the city runs the 2025 municipal elections, from how voters request mail‑in ballots to when officials will begin processing returned ballots.

Leahy said all municipal mail‑in ballots in 2025 will require a separate application to the Annapolis Board of Elections, even for voters who already receive mail ballots for state or federal contests. "If you already think you're getting a mail in ballot because you got one for the presidential, that's not gonna happen," she said, adding that the city cannot automatically tap into the county's mail‑in list.

Those who use mail‑in ballots must sign an oath on the ballot envelope; Leahy said the city will implement a curing process so staff can contact voters if the oath is missing and allow the voter to correct the envelope before a statutory deadline. Ballots will be mailed with prepaid postage, must be postmarked by election day and must be received by the board no later than 10 a.m. the Tuesday after the election (Leahy cited example dates of Sept. 23 and Nov. 11). Voters also will be able to deposit ballots at one of eight drop boxes around the city; Leahy said drop boxes will be monitored by camera and emptied twice daily by bipartisan county staff once they are deployed roughly 30…