Laurel posts key dates for Prince George's County primary election

Laurel has posted the key dates for Prince George’s County’s June 23 primary, a ballot that reaches from the county executive’s office to school board and judicial races. In a county where party primaries often decide the next officeholder, the contests on this ballot carry consequences for budgets, prosecutions, schools and daily county services.

Early voting in Maryland began Thursday, June 11, and runs through Thursday, June 18, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The primary election itself is Tuesday, June 23, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Online and mail voter registration for the primary closed Tuesday, June 2, and requests for a mail-in ballot to be delivered by mail or fax were due Tuesday, June 16. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked or placed in a designated drop box by 8 p.m. on June 23. Prince George’s County’s election website also offers specimen ballots, voter information and a lookup tool for polling place and district details.

Maryland primary elections generally let only registered Democrats and Republicans vote in their party primaries, while unaffiliated or third-party voters may participate in nonpartisan races such as school board contests. That makes the down-ballot contests especially important for voters outside the two major parties, and it still leaves many local decisions in the hands of party voters who often focus on the top of the ticket.

The biggest prize on the county ballot is the Democratic primary for county executive, a race likely to decide the winner in heavily Democratic Prince George’s. Incumbent Aisha Braveboy, who won a 2025 special election after Angela Alsobrooks left for the U.S. Senate, is facing Billy W. Bridges, Marcellus Crews, Charnell Ferguson and Greg Holmes. No Republican candidate filed. The county executive controls a multi-billion-dollar budget and oversees public safety, schools and economic development.

The State’s Attorney contest is another marquee race, with incumbent Tara Jackson facing Councilmember Wanika Fisher and prosecutor Karen Piper Mitchell. The result will shape how the county handles prosecutions and public safety policy in the courthouse and beyond. On the school side, four of the nine Prince George’s County Public Schools board seats are on the ballot. The district serves 131,310 students in 199 schools, and the District 2 race is open after incumbent Jonathan Briggs declined to run again. Alvaro Ceron-Ruiz, Terence Clegg and Caroline Decaire-Goldin are competing for that seat.

Turnout in Maryland primaries was 27% in 2022 and 28% in 2024, and Prince George’s County drew more hotline inquiries than any other local board in 2022. The county board has also warned that some voters who received ballots before May 14 got the wrong party ballot and will receive replacements. In Prince George’s County, the June 23 primary will decide more than nominations; it will set the course for classrooms, courtrooms and county government.