Great Mills, Maryland Public Records

Regular office hours run Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, though the office extends these hours as elections approach. Maryland residents in Great Mills can complete voter registration online at elections.maryland.gov/voter_registration, provided they have a valid Maryland driver's license or Motor Vehicle Administration ID card. Traditional paper applications can be mailed in, or prospective voters can register in person at the St. Mary's County Board of Elections office. Registration must be completed at least 21 days before any election. However, Maryland offers same-day registration during the early voting period, giving those who miss the deadline another opportunity to register and cast a ballot before Election Day arrives. To qualify for registration, applicants need to be U.S. Citizens and Maryland residents, at least 16 years old (though voting requires being 18), and not under guardianship for mental disability or serving a felony sentence unless voting rights have been restored. As an unincorporated community, Great Mills has no municipal government of its own, which means residents don't vote for a mayor or town council. Instead, they participate in St. Mary's County elections for County Commissioners, Board of Education members, Sheriff, State's Attorney, and other county-level positions. The county operates under a five-member Board of County Commissioners who serve four-year terms and are elected during gubernatorial election years. The next county elections are scheduled for November 2026, running alongside state and federal contests. Residents can locate their assigned polling place using the Maryland State Board of Elections online tool at elections.maryland.gov/voting/where.html by entering their home address. The system returns the polling location address, operating hours (generally 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM on Election Day), and a sample ballot displaying every race and question voters will encounter. St. Mary's County also provides early voting at designated sites, typically running for eight days and concluding the Thursday before Election Day. Maryland maintains substantial election transparency through publicly accessible records. Voter registration lists can be purchased by candidates, political committees, and those conducting academic or journalistic research, though commercial solicitation is prohibited. Campaign finance reports are searchable online at campaignfinance.maryland.gov, where anyone can review contributions and expenditures for state and county candidates. Candidate filings - including certificates of candidacy and financial disclosure statements - are open to public inspection through the Board of Elections. After each election, detailed results broken down by precinct appear on both state and county elections websites, showing vote totals for every candidate and ballot question. During the November 2024 presidential election, St. Mary's County recorded voter turnout around 66-68% of its registered voters, with approximately 75,000 registered and roughly 50,000 ballots cast. The county has trended Republican in recent election cycles, diverging from Maryland's statewide Democratic lean in most major races. The November 3, 2026 election will bring several important races before Great Mills and St. Mary's County voters. Maryland holds gubernatorial and lieutenant governor elections that year, as the state schedules these races for midterm years with four-year terms. All 188 members of the Maryland General Assembly will stand for election - 47 State Senators serving four-year terms and 141 Delegates also elected to four-year terms. St. Mary's County falls within District 29 for state legislative representation. County voters will decide all five County Commissioner seats, along with the Sheriff, State's Attorney, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Register of Wills, and Orphans' Court judges. Though no U.S. Senate seat from Maryland appears on the 2026 ballot (those seats are contested in 2024 and 2028), there will be a U.S. House of Representatives race for Maryland's 5th Congressional District, which covers all of St. Mary's County including Great Mills. Maryland provides extensive absentee and mail-in voting access. Any registered voter can request a mail-in ballot without stating a reason. Requests can be submitted through the state Board of Elections website, by mail, or in person at the St. For the November 3 general election, the request deadline falls on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, though earlier submissions are recommended. Completed ballots must carry an Election Day postmark and arrive within 10 days after the election, or voters can place them in official ballot drop boxes by 8:00 PM on Election Day. St. Mary's County maintains secure drop boxes at the Board of Elections office and additional locations announced prior to each election.