Frederick County
Frederick County
Primary Election in Maryland
After months of hard work by candidates and their teams and by the League and other non-profits hosting forums, preparing guides, and holding registration drives, the mid-terms are over. Like most people, you are likely happy with some of the results and disappointed in others. However, there is one result that you are likely to find very unsatisfying -- the turnout.
Out of total registered voters, just slightly over23% cast ballots, which is about the same as the Maryland-wide results. While some blame Maryland's closed primary system, that does not come close to telling the entire story. In Frederick, about one third of registered Democrats cast primary ballots as did about one quarter of registered Republican voters. These results are independent of whether the primary is open or closed. Yes, less than 10 % of independent votes cast ballots, depressing the overall turnout percentages, the closed primary only accounts for a small portion of the low turnout.
Typically, mid-term primaries have low voter turnout. However, for both Maryland and Frederick, the turnout was slightly lower than in 2022 for the last mid-term primary.
Why the low turnout? And, more importantly, what, if anything, can we do about it? There are no easy answers or simple solutions, but we do need to be think about an appropriate response. We only have 4 months before the general election, and we need to do whatever we can to encourage more folks to cast their ballots. People died for the right to vote, so we need to help everyone realize that their vote is their voice.
Your Vote Matters!
___________________________________________________________________________
VOTE411.org and our 2026 FORUMS
In conjunction with the League of Women Voters of Maryland and the U.S. League, the League of Women Voters of Frederick County (LWVFC) 2026 primary election Voters’ Guide is now LIVE on the League’s online platform at VOTE411.org. The League is also hosting in-person and virtual candidate forums for many of the 23 races on the primary ballot this year. Keep an eye on this page for news about dates and times for forums as we confirm our very busy candidates!
VOTE411.org provides nonpartisan candidate information, a place to check voter registration, polling place and drop-box locations, and other election information for all voters nationwide. Most of the information is available in English and Spanish, by toggling between languages using a button on the home page of VOTE411.org. Moreover, VOTE411.org offers voters a chance to read and compare responses to queries about local issues from every candidate who will be on the primary election ballot, except those who chose not to respond to the League’s queries.
We do not print a Voters' Guide for the Primary, but you can find a printable Voters' Guide as follows:
2026 Primary Voters' Guide in English: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BT-HF7Ve5HzfvUpASdiH1Zc72VLzp6XG/view?usp=sharing
2026 Primary Voters' Guide in Spanish: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HY2S6A9jheKEh0l00wpOJippGPnko9Ye/view?usp=sharing
FORUMS
The virtual forums and the in-person forums were recorded, and links to the videos, as well as information about the forum, can be found at https://my.lwv.org/maryland/frederick-county/event/2026-primary-candidate-forums. There is also a playlist called 2026 Forumsfon the League’s YouTube channel at https://studio.youtube.com/playlist/PL0DcoIQCollpETyIc4QWatxmmBjfk7rDp/videos
2026 Municipal Elections
TOWN REGISTRATION DEADLINE DATE OF ELECTION
Brunswick July 14, 2026 August 4, 2026
Walkersville August 17, 2026 September 14, 2026
(Note: Dates are subject to change. Information is current as of 2/6/2026.)
