Are you registered as an unaffiliated voter? Did you know that the only race you can vote on in the primary is a non-partisan race like board of education? You cannot vote for a candidate in any other race until general election. So if you wanted to vote for county commissioner candidates, you cannot during the primary, unless you change (temporarily or permanently) your party affiliation before the primary.
Per the Maryland State Board of Elections:
What is a party primary election?
The Democratic and Republican Parties are required to use primary elections to choose their candidates for the general election. Although it is up to the parties to decide who may vote in their primaries, generally only registered voters affiliated with the Democratic or Republican Parties may vote in that party’s primary election.
What that means is, if you are unaffiliated and you want to vote for a Democratic County Commissioner candidate, you need to change your party affiliation to Democrat before the 3 week deadline. Currently, registered voters must change their party affiliation by the voter registration deadline, 21 days before the election. You can change to either Democrat or Republican, and then vote for the candidates you support in the primary.
If you are unaffiliated, and you change your party affiliation before the primary, you have the choice after the primary to go back to unaffiliated, or you can remain with that party- the choice is yours.
To change your party affiliation, use Maryland’s Online Voter Registration System (OLVR) or submit a new voter registration application or a written request to your local board of elections.