Primary Rules

Maryland primary election and delegate rules

See Maryland primary election type, who can vote in primaries, and historical 2024 Democratic and Republican delegate allocation details.

Rule and delegate context. This page combines structured primary-rule summaries with selected state, party, national, or archive source links. Presidential delegate counts are historical 2024 cycle data.

Last reviewed: August 21, 2026. Delegate counts are historical 2024 cycle data where listed. Confirm current primary voting rules with state election officials or party materials.

Who Can Vote

Can I vote in Maryland primaries?

Primary access

Maryland lists multiple primary classifications: Closed: Democratic Presidential and Republican Presidential. Partially Closed: Democratic State and Republican State. Eligibility can depend on the party, office, ballot type, and election cycle.

Party and office differences

Closed: Democratic Presidential and Republican Presidential. Partially Closed: Democratic State and Republican State.

Before you vote

Primary rules can vary by party, office, and election cycle. Confirm your current ballot eligibility with state election officials, your local election office, or the relevant political party.

Delegate context

The delegate totals on this page are historical 2024 presidential cycle data. They help explain the last presidential allocation cycle but should not be treated as current-cycle delegate counts.

Primary Type

Maryland primary type breakdown

In Maryland, you do not have to affiliate with a political party. If you do not select a political party on your voter registration application, you will be "unaffiliated" with any political party. This means that you will generally not be able to vote in party primary elections, but you will be able to vote in any nonpartisan primary elections held in your...

Closed: Democratic Presidential and Republican Presidential
Partially Closed: Democratic State and Republican State

Delegates

Historical 2024 delegate allocation

2024 Democratic Delegates

104 delegate votes

Allocation: Proportional
Threshold: 15% minimum vote required

Maryland Democratic Party has a total of 102 Delegate Votes and 7 Alternate Delegates. 81 of the 102 delegates are pledeged and the remaining 21 are unpledged. The party will use a proportional representation system based on the results of the Presidential...

2024 Republican Delegates

37 delegate votes

Allocation: Winner-Take-All
Threshold: Not specified

The Republican party will send a total of 37 Delegate Votes and 34 Alternate Delegates to the 2024 RNC national convention. 37 Delegate Votes (24 District-level delegates, 10 At-Large, and 3 RNC delegates). All 37 of Maryland's delegates(Winner-Take-All) to...

Sources

Sources and verification links

Questions

Common questions

What type of primary does Maryland use?

Maryland is listed with the following primary type classification: Closed, Partially Closed.

Can unaffiliated voters vote in Maryland primaries?

Why does Maryland show more than one primary type?

Maryland can list different classifications for presidential, state, congressional, Democratic, Republican, or nonpartisan contests. The page lists the model breakdown as: Closed: Democratic Presidential and Republican Presidential. Partially Closed: Democratic State and Republican State.

How many 2024 presidential delegates are listed for Maryland?

The model lists 104 Democratic delegate votes and 37 Republican delegate votes for the 2024 presidential cycle.

Are Maryland delegate totals current?

The delegate totals shown for Maryland are historical 2024 presidential cycle data where listed. Confirm current-cycle delegate plans with official party materials or state election sources.

Where can I verify Maryland primary rules?

Use state election materials, party materials, and selected reference links where available. This page links to elections.maryland.gov and www.ncsl.org - Primary Types.