(a) The State Board shall establish guidelines for the administration of absentee voting by the local boards. (b) The guidelines shall provide for: (1) the application process; (2) late application for absentee ballots; (3) ballot security, including storage of returned ballots; (4) determining timeliness of receipt of applications and ballots, including applications and ballots for overseas voters; (5) the canvass process; (6) notice of the canvass to candidates, political parties, campaign organizations, news media, and the general public; (7) observers of the process; (8) review of voted ballots and envelopes for compliance with the law and for machine tabulation acceptability; (9) standards for disallowance of ballots during the canvass; (10) storage and retention of ballots following canvass and certification; and (11) the permanent absentee ballot list. (c) The State Board shall: (1) in consultation with the local boards, assess the guidelines before each primary election; and (2) revise the guidelines if indicated.
Maryland Legal Code