Nearly 2.3 million Marylanders have voted in early voting or by mail. If you or someone you know were not among them, today is the day to put a bow on it. Safely. Aware of scams.

Even if you are not registered you can make your voice heard today by casting a ballot. See how, and more, below.  Updated with scam warnings.

Election Day is tomorrow -- an election in the midst of a resurgent COVID-19 pandemic that is Topic A in the political discussion. Nationally and even locally we may have to defend a complete count. Let's be alert. As always, the PM Weekly Memo has what you need for the week -- pandemic info, voting info, our endorsed candidates and details about how progressives plan to win, defend democracy -- and govern. Read on.

Maryland's barriers to voting are few compared to some other states, but that doesn't mean we should be complacent. And in states where voting IS hard, we might consider how to help our friends and their neighbors get their votes counted. See where our state falls in the rankings, easiest to hardest.

Progressive Marylanders: Early voting is under way right now and continues through November 2, the day before Election Day November 3. It includes Saturday (Oct. 31) and Sunday (Nov. 1) and runs from 7 AM to 8 PM in most locations. Get more voting information below, and check out Progressive Maryland's endorsed candidates, chosen after careful vetting and questionnaires to be sure we are backing progressive candidates. See all of our Progressive Maryland endorsees HERE. Today, we highlight our endorsees in Calvert, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties and in the Congressional race in District 1. Read on.

EARLY VOTING BEGINS TODAY and runs till next Monday, Nov. 2 Early voting starts today! Early voting centers will be open from 7:00AM-8:00 PM. Click here to find an early voting center in your county. Early voting is available each and every day from today, October 26, until Monday, Nov.2. from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. including on Saturday and Sunday.  Safety procedures like distancing will be in place. Remember to mask up.

Progressive Marylanders: Early voting statewide begins TOMORROW – Monday, October 26 – and continues through November 2, the day before Election Day November 3. It includes Saturday (Oct. 31) and Sunday (Nov. 1) and runs from 7 AM to 8 PM in most locations. On how to vote, and who Progressive Maryland is backing, read on...

Early voting begins next week and tomorrow is the deadline for requesting an absentee -- "mail-in" ballot. Read all about it in the Memo, plus updates on how the Hogan administration is doing in the struggle to cope with COVID (spoiler alert: not good), how to contest the corporate darling Judge Amy, and working to support progresssive down-ballot candidates in jurisdictions all over the state. Check it out in this week's Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo.

As the election draws closer we continue to remind you of the little things it takes to make sure your vote counts. If you are tired of seeing them here, that's understandable. The way to conveniently ignore that information is to vote early, vote absentee, get it done.

Meanwhile the Weekly Memo is otherwise populated with insights to keep you and your community chugging ahead to make change. Make it happen.

Marylanders shocked by Florida's vindictive requirement that ex-felons must pay off all fees before they can vote should know that equally onerous requirements hobble returning citizens iin Maryland as well. In Florida, GOP legislators connived to suppress votes after the state's voters, in a referendum, determined that ex-felons should enjoy the right to vote. In Maryland, not so dramatically, the impediiments to resumng life in society pile up with equal, remorseless tenacity. Maryland Matters's Hannah Gaskill recounts testimony from the Job Opportunities Task Force, our progressive ally organization focusing on the ways poverty is criminalized and perpetuated in our state.

Time is running out for the Maryland General Assembly to do what its clear duties require and meet in Special Session to finish their work from the cut-off session in spring 2020 and remedy the shortfalls of the Hogan administration in keeping the state's people and economy protected from the effects of COVID-19.

Here, a participant in the recent People's Special Session recounts how the leaders of the Assembly tried -- and failed -- to pre-empt or muffle these demands by crashing the People's Special Session.

As Rashad Lloyd says here in a Maryland Matters commentary, "The people won’t forget the harm the General Assembly has caused by failing to take action. We certainly won’t forget this moment when they’re up for reelection in 2022."

See more of our PM BlogSpace coverage on the need for a special session here and here.