§9–303.

    (a)    The State Board shall establish guidelines for the administration of absentee voting by the local boards.

    (b)    The guidelines shall provide for:

        (1)    the application process;

        (2)    late application for absentee ballots;

        (3)    ballot security, including storage of returned ballots;

        (4)    determining timeliness of receipt of applications and ballots, including applications and ballots for overseas voters;

        (5)    the canvass process;

        (6)    notice of the canvass to candidates, political parties, campaign organizations, news media, and the general public;

        (7)    observers of the process;

        (8)    review of voted ballots and envelopes for compliance with the law and for machine tabulation acceptability;

        (9)    standards for disallowance of ballots during the canvass;

        (10)    storage and retention of ballots following canvass and certification; and

        (11)    the permanent absentee ballot list.

    (c)    The State Board shall:

        (1)    in consultation with the local boards, assess the guidelines before each primary election; and

        (2)    revise the guidelines if indicated.