Ready for Election Day? Here’s How, Where and When to Vote

Tuesday’s midterm is the rare one that students may be excited about: It’s Election Day and for many Terps, their first opportunity to cast a ballot. 

Polling sites in Maryland are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 3 for the 2026 U.S. midterm elections. But the process can raise questions for new voters, and even for ballot-box veterans: Can I still register? Where’s my polling station? What about mail-in voting?

TerpsVote, the University of Maryland’s nonpartisan student, faculty, and staff initiative dedicated to increasing civic engagement and voter participation, has amped up its outreach to answer those questions. It’s hosting a Party at the Polls from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday in the lobby of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union, a polling site for some students (see more below!). In addition to last-minute support, visitors will be treated to giveaways, snacks, photo ops and special guest appearances.

In the meantime, Courtney Holder, assistant director of leadership and community service-learning at the Stamp and a TerpsVote coalition member, provided this quick guide to how to make your voice heard: 

Don’t assume you can vote at the Stamp. While most students who registered using their campus address are assigned to vote there, and most off-campus students are assigned to other polling sites, there are exceptions. TerpsVote has compiled a list of assigned polling locations for residence halls, nearby apartments, and fraternity and sorority houses. TerpsVote’s platform, TurboVote, also allows Terps to search by address.

Yes. You can update your registration to reflect your campus or local address and cast a provisional ballot, which means your registration would get verified before your ballot is counted. Be sure to go to the correct polling site — it might not be the Stamp — and arrive with the correct information. (See more on that below.) TerpsVote has compiled a list of assigned polling locations for most residence halls, nearby apartments, and fraternity and sorority houses. TerpsVote’s platform, TurboVote, also allows Terps to search by address.

Maryland allows you to update your registration when you vote in-person at the polling location assigned to your local address on Election Day. Same-day registration requires you to bring proof of residency: a printed, physical document, not a digital or phone document. 

• If you live on campus, follow the instructions from TerpsVote on obtaining the document through the ResLife portal. 
• If you live off campus, acceptable forms of proof of residency include a driver's license, ID card or change-of-address card, or a paycheck, bank statement, utility bill or other government document showing your name and the address with which you are voting.

Voting with your local address means you would cast a Prince George's County ballot that includes races and measures specific to the county, as opposed to your home county or state.

Yes. You can register the same day in Maryland and cast a provisional ballot, which means your registration would get verified before your ballot is counted. Again, don’t assume you can register and vote at the Stamp. While most on-campus students are assigned to vote there, and most off-campus students are assigned to other polling sites—there are exceptions. A list of assigned polling locations for most residence halls, nearby apartments and fraternity/sorority houses can be found here. To search by address, visit this Turbovote link.

Same-day registration requires you to bring proof of residency: a printed, physical document, not a digital or phone document. 

• If you live on campus, follow the instructions from TerpsVote on obtaining the document through the ResLife portal. 
• If you live off campus, acceptable forms of proof of residency include a driver's license, ID card or change-of-address card, or a paycheck, bank statement, utility bill or other government document showing your name and the address with which you are voting.

Bring a photo ID, even though Maryland doesn’t strictly require it. This can include a driver’s license or permit or a student ID. If you are updating your voter registration, bring a printed, physical copy of your proof of residency. 

Yes, if you have already obtained your absentee ballot. Note that your ballot must be returned in an envelope (use the envelope sent to you or use the envelope template included with ballots sent by emailed link, if provided) and may require postage. Visit umd.turbovote.org/how-to-vote to check your state.

If you still have a Maryland absentee ballot to submit, you can take it directly to a post office during its hours of operation (see below) or put it in an official Maryland ballot dropbox before 8 p.m. The closest secure dropbox to campus is at the Lakeland College Park Community Center (5051 Pierce Ave.).

If you still have an absentee ballot for another state to submit, TerpsVote recommends you take it directly to a post office, turn the ballot in to the USPS employee working at the desk, and ask them to hand-stamp and process the ballot to ensure it is submitted by the deadline. Two post offices are within a short distance to campus: 

• 9591 Baltimore Ave., College Park: 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. 
• 6411 Baltimore Ave., Riverdale Park: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. 

Some helpful nonpartisan resources include Ballotpedia, School of Public Health Ballot Initiatives affecting families, Local News Network- Maryland Assembly Voter Guide, and the Philip Merrill College of Journalism’s Local News Network- School Board Voter Guide.

Yes. TerpsVote representatives will be stationed at the Party at the Polls in the Stamp lobby, and the Leadership and Community Service-Learning office (1110 Stamp) will be open throughout Tuesday as a resource hub to answer last-minute questions, print proof of residency documents and provide stamps and envelopes for last-minute mail-in and absentee ballots.