November 8 is sooner than you think!
Although the General Election falls on November 8, there are some very important deadlines coming up quickly in October! Check out the list below to make sure you are ready to exercise your rights when the day comes.
October 18: Deadline to register to vote or change your party affiliation
November 1: Deadline to request a mail-in or absentee ballot (in order for your mail-in ballot to count, it must be postmarked on or before the General Election date of November 8)
October 27 through November 3: in-person early voting
November 8: General Election (in-person)
In this age of disinformation and voter suppression, voter education and engagement are crucial to the democratic process.
Maryland Citizens for the Arts is surveying Gubernatorial, Comptroller, and States Attorney General candidates on their relationship and commitment to the arts and will soon publish a pocket-sized Voter Engagement Guide. Until then, you can use VOTE411 to familiarize yourself with the ballot. This tool is brought to you by the highly trustworthy nonpartisan League of Women Voters’ Education Fund.
Among the many important issues on the ballot in Baltimore City, the Board of School Commissioners will expand from 10 to 12 seats, with the two additional seats being elected rather than appointed. The top four candidates selected in the Primary Election will be on the ballot of the General Election on November 8. To learn where the candidates (Ashley Esposito, April Christina Curley, Kwame Kenyatta-Bey, and Salimah Jasani) stand on arts education, read their responses to the Arts Every Day (AED) questionnaire. You can also attend the candidates’ forum and voter education event organized by AED and the No Boundaries Coalition (dinner is included) at Unity Hall. You can RSVP here.
If you are looking for ways to get involved in the election process in Baltimore City, the nonpartisan Baltimore Votes can help. One of the events they sponsor is Party at the Polls, to welcome and celebrate with votes on election day.
Let’s all vote and participate in our democracy!
Jeannie
P.S. Congratulations to Rey Velasquez Sagcal from Baltimore, Maryland, the winner of the National Arts & Humanities Month Poster Competition! For the second year in a row, President Biden issued an official proclamation from the White House declaring October as National Arts & Humanities Month. President Biden says: “For centuries, American arts and humanities have been a beacon of light and understanding, recording our history and advancing new ways of thinking. This National Arts and Humanities Month, we celebrate our Nation’s visionary artists, scholars, and creators whose work touches and reveals the soul of America.” You can see more of Rey’s work on his Baker Artist Portfolio.
