# Maryland SB 0949: Election Law - Absentee Ballots - State and Federal Requirements

Maryland SB 0949, Election Law - Absentee Ballots - State and Federal Requirements, is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Cheryl C. Kagan (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-05-12 (Approved by the Governor - Chapter 440) (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0949-2026RS
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Maryland SB 0949
- State: Maryland
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Election Law - Absentee Ballots - State and Federal Requirements
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-02-06
- Last action: 2026-05-12, Approved by the Governor - Chapter 440
- Sponsor: Cheryl C. Kagan (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Elections, Absentee and Mail-In Ballots, Elections, State Board of, Electronic Government, Emergency Bills, Federal Government, Health -see also- COVID19; EnvHlth; MedCon; etc., Internet -see also- Internet Access, Laws and Ordinances -see also- Pub Local Laws; Uniform Laws, Notices, Public Information, Rules and Regulations, Safety -see also- Occupational Safety, Sunset, Time, Voting -see also- Absentee and Mail-In Voting
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 2 (131 yes, 46 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Maryland sets clear mail-in ballot deadlines: benefit, medium. You may vote by mail in Maryland, unless federal law says otherwise. Your ballot counts if an early voting center gets it before polls close on the last day of early voting. It counts if a local board office or a polling place gets it before polls close on Election Day, or if you use a drop box bef…
- Maryland now calls it mail-in voting: benefit, low. The State Board and all local boards must call absentee voting “mail‑in voting” in all public messages. Ballots delivered over the Internet are called “print‑at‑home ballots.” Public messages must also explain that Maryland law still uses the word “absentee” for mail‑in voting. This takes effect Ma…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Cheryl C. Kagan (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-13 | Senate | Third Reading Passed | pass | 35 | 10 | 2 |
| 2026-04-13 | House | Third Reading Passed | pass | 96 | 36 | 8 |

## Actions (16)

- 2026-05-12: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 440
- 2026-04-13: Returned Passed (Senate)
- 2026-04-13: Third Reading Passed (96-36) (House)
- 2026-04-13: Second Reading Passed (House)
- 2026-04-13: Favorable Adopted (House)
- 2026-04-13: Favorable Report by Government, Labor, and Elections (House)
- 2026-04-13: Rereferred to Government, Labor, and Elections (House)
- 2026-04-13: Referred Rules and Executive Nominations (House)
- 2026-04-13: Third Reading Passed (35-10) (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: Second Reading Passed with Amendments (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: Favorable with Amendments {143222/1 Adopted (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: Motion Laid Over (Senator Jennings) Adopted (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: Favorable with Amendments {143222/1 (Senate)
- 2026-04-10: Favorable with Amendments Report by Education, Energy, and the Environment (Senate)
- 2026-02-10: Hearing 2/25 at 1:00 p.m. (Senate)
- 2026-02-06: First Reading Education, Energy, and the Environment (Senate)

## Bill text

- Enacted, 2026-05-12: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_440_sb0949t.pdf)
- Third Reading, 2026-04-10: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0949t.pdf)
- First Reading, 2026-02-10: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0949f.pdf)

## Related bills

- SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - Authorization (became law)
- SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishment (became law)
- SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law)
- SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-1 Specialists Act) (became law)
- SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits (became law)
- HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law)

## Sources
- [Enacted (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_440_sb0949t.pdf)
- [Third Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0949t.pdf)
- [First Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0949f.pdf)

## Related
- [SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - A…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0496-2026RS)
- [SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishm…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0366-2026RS)
- [SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0244-2026RS)
- [SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0148-2026RS)
- [SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0016-2026RS)
- [HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0529-2026RS)
- [Maryland bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland/bills)
- [Maryland state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0949-2026RS (as of 2026-10-11).