Maryland Election Law Section 9-303

      (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; and

            (10)      storage and retention of ballots following canvass and certification.

      (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.