Benedict, Maryland Public Records

Residents can register to vote online through the Maryland State Board of Elections at https://elections.maryland.gov/voter_registration/index.html. Maryland offers online voter registration for citizens with a valid Maryland driver's license or MVA-issued ID card. The voter registration deadline in Maryland is 21 days before any election. New registrants must be U.S. Citizens, at least 18 years old by the next general election, Maryland residents, and not under guardianship for mental disability or convicted of a felony unless voting rights have been restored. Benedict does not hold municipal elections. As an unincorporated community without its own town government, mayor, or town council, residents vote in Charles County, State of Maryland, and federal elections. For the November 3, 2026 general election, voters in Benedict and Charles County will decide several significant races. Maryland will hold elections for Governor and Lieutenant Governor in 2026, as Maryland gubernatorial terms are four years and the last election was in 2022. All 188 seats in the Maryland General Assembly will be on the ballot, including the Maryland State Senate and House of Delegates seats representing Benedict's legislative districts; residents should verify their specific district through the Board of Elections. Charles County will elect county-level offices including County Commissioners, Sheriff, State's Attorney, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Register of Wills, and Judges of the Orphans' Court, depending on term schedules. There is no U.S. Senate seat from Maryland up for election in 2026; Maryland's next U.S. Senate race will be in 2028. In the November 2024 presidential election, Charles County reported approximately 63% voter turnout, with over 100,000 ballots cast out of roughly 160,000 registered voters, reflecting strong civic engagement in this populous suburban county. Residents can look up their assigned polling place using the Maryland State Board of Elections' Voter Lookup tool at https://elections.maryland.gov/voting/where.html, which requires entering name and date of birth or address information. The lookup tool also displays sample ballots, early voting locations, and voter registration status. Maryland offers early voting beginning the second Thursday before Election Day and running for eight days including two weekends; Charles County operates multiple early voting centers listed on the Board of Elections website. Maryland also has absentee and mail-in voting; any registered voter can request a mail-in ballot without providing an excuse. Mail-in ballot applications can be submitted online through the state elections website, and ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received within 10 days after the election to be counted, or delivered in person to ballot drop boxes by 8 PM on Election Day. Election records that are public in Maryland include voter registration lists, available for purchase by campaigns and political committees under strict rules, campaign finance reports filed with the Maryland State Board of Elections, candidate filings and financial disclosures, and precinct-level election results. These records are accessible through the Maryland State Board of Elections website at https://elections.maryland.gov, which publishes unofficial results on election night and certified results following the canvass period.