Election Day 2022: Congressional, State House races narrow as more votes come in

Maryland is headed to the polls for the General Election on Nov. 8, and aside from Larry Hogan leaving the governor's seat open for a new candidate, the election could be a huge sign of the state's political climate. Fortunately, we have a breakdown of the critical seats across the state, as well as the listed candidates within Washington County.

Once we have live results, we'll be tracking governor and U.S. Senate races while also adding/updating results here.

As results are released by the various elections boards across the state, we'll have a running tally here.

Thiam catches up, Parrott pulls ahead, Malott falls behind

With nearly half the Election Day precincts in Washington County reporting, margins in a couple of hotly contested races were narrowing.

In the contest for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 2B, incumbent Brenda Thiam is catching up to Democratic challenger Brooke Grossman. With 10 of 15 precincts in the district reporting, Grossman leads Thiam with 3,029 to 3,011.

In the race for the U.S. House in Congressional District 6, Republican challenger Neil Parrott had pulled ahead of incumbent David Trone with 54,041 votes to 46,140, with 100 of 247 precincts in the district reporting.

In the Washington County race for Register of Wills, incumbent Jason Malott could be heading for an upset as he trails Republican challenger Lacy Flook, 15,630 to 12,587, with 31 of 55 precincts reporting.

Early numbers: Trone leads Parrott, Grossman ahead of Thiam, but not all precincts reporting yet

As the numbers begin to be tabulated and released, incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. David Trone is leading Republican Del. Neil Parrott in the race for 6th Congressional District.

With mostly early voting ballots counted in 11 of 247 precincts, Trone is ahead 32,141 to 24,423.

In the race for House District 2B, which covers the city of Hagerstown, Democratic challenger Brooke Grossman is leading incumbent Republican Del. Brenda Thiam 1,213 to 933.

Precinct 3-3 at Emma K. Doub first to arrive at Washington County Election Board

The poll workers at Precinct 3-3 were on the ball.

The precinct at Emma K. Doub Elementary School was the first to arrive Tuesday night at the Washington County Election Board Headquarters on Virginia Avenue south of Hagerstown.

It even beat the results being tabulated at the headquarters polling place.

There are 55 precincts at 49 polling places across Washington County, according to election board officials. In addition to those, counters will tally early voting and 4,000 of the mail-in ballots Tuesday night.

Miscounting of ballot bundles draws attention of county, state election boards

Washington County Deputy Election Director Barry Jackson addressed what he described as a "nonissue" early Tuesday evening after word — mistakenly — spread on social media earlier on Election Day that blank ballots were missing from the Hancock precinct.

Jackson said no blank ballots were missing from the precinct at Hancock Middle-Senior High School. There was some confusion early on, but by around 9 a.m., election board President Marty Lumm had counted the ballot packs to confirm none were missing at the Hancock precinct.

The issue arose before the polls opened Tuesday, around 6 a.m., when the sealed ballot bins were opened and the packs of 50 ballots were counted, Jackson said.

The Democratic chief judge at the site put the ballot packs in sequential order — each pack has a cover sheet marking which numbered ballots it contains — and mistakenly thought a pack of 50 was missing, Jackson said.

Election officials sent the Hancock precinct 26 packs of ballots, for a total of 1,300, Jackson said. Election officials don't send the ballot packs out in sequential order, but the chief judge thought a pack was missing when she saw a gap in the sequential order, he said.

There were 26 packs of page one ballots and 26 packs of page two ballots, he said.

The Maryland Election Integrity Group tweeted a screenshot of what appears to be a text conversation with a Washington County Republican Central Committee poll watcher about a missing batch of ballots.

The integrity group, according to a Baltimore Sun story, is aligned with Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox's campaign. Among those the group tagged on its tweet about missing ballots was Cox and his running mate Gordana Schifanelli.

The group also later tweeted a screenshot of a message from Maryland State Board of Elections Deputy Administrator Nikki Charlson, who shared information from the county election board that no ballots were missing.

Ashley McCusker, the poll watcher, wrote via Facebook message Tuesday night that at first it was thought a batch of ballots was missing because of the missing batch number. A call was made to the county election board and Lumm arrived to count the ballot packs.

McCusker wrote that Jerry DeWolf, the Republican Central Committee's chairman, is asking the county election board for a written account of what happened.

McCusker thanked the local election board for helping resolve the issue as well as the "election workers who are going above and beyond in their efforts to verify everything."

Jackson said someone contacted the state election board about the Hancock matter and the state board got in touch with the county election board to see what was happening.

"It was a nonissue that was turned into an issue," Jackson said.

Casting ballots: A time-honored tradition

Voters fanned out across Washington County on Tuesday to cast their ballots in the 2022 midterm election.

About 15,000 voters in Washington County have already cast their ballots, either by mail or during the early voting period that ended at 8 p.m. on Nov. 3. The county sent more than 11,500 mail-in ballots in total. As of Friday, more than 7,800 had been received. And 7,384 residents out of the county’s 99,137 registered voters decided to cast their ballot during early voting.

Republican candidate for governor, Del. Dan Cox, casts his ballot

Republican candidate for governor Del. Dan Cox, Frederick/Carroll, cast his ballot at Sabillasville Environmental School in northern Frederick County on Tuesday morning. He was accompanied at the polls by his wife, Valerie.

In an interview afterward, Cox said the state's election workers are "doing us all a civic favor."

When asked if he would accept the calls of results from news organizations like he did in the primary election, Cox said he would accept the "lawful and constitutional results."

"I would look forward to proper news reporting and to make sure that the vote is in before the calls are starting to be made," he said.

Cox plans to see the results come in at an election night event he is hosting in Annapolis.

Democratic governor candidate Wes Moore voted in West Baltimore during early voting and plans to see the results in Baltimore on Tuesday night.

What to know: Wes Moore vs Dan Cox MD Governor race

Democrat Wes Moore will take on Republican Dan Cox for the governor position.

Wes Moore

This is Moore's first political run, but his victory could be historic if he wins the governor's seat. Moore would be Maryland's first African American governor. The Democrat holds a variety of experience from military to television production, and he was previously the CEO of Robin Hood, an anti-poverty organization based out of Baltimore.

Dan Cox

Dan Cox has spent three legislative years as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates. However, his moves in the past two years have made him a polarizing figure to voters. Along with receiving support from former President Donald Trump, he also attempted to get the state's current governor, Larry Hogan, impeached in February over COVID-19 restrictions.

More of Moore:From City Hall intern to Democratic nominee, Wes Moore has former mayor Schmoke behind him

More about Cox:Dan Cox has a steep path, from small-town official to Trump-backed governor's candidate

Chris Van Hollen vs Chris Chaffee U.S. Senate race

Current U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, will be facing off against Republican Chris Chaffee for the spot in the U.S. Senate.

Chris Van Hollen

Van Hollen is running for his second term in the Senate. He holds previous political experience as a former member of the House Representatives before winning the Senate seat in 2017.

Chris Chaffee

Chaffee has run for political positions in the past, according to WAMU, but has never held an elected position. However, the small-business owner with a construction background edged out a competitive list of Republicans in this year's primaries to become the party's candidate.

More on both candidates:Maryland Election 2022: Get to know the candidates for U.S. Senate

Local races around Hagerstown, Washington, County

Here are the local races we are following. An "i" denotes incumbent.

State Delegate (District 1)

• Mike McKay (R)

• Michael Dreisbach (D)

State Senate (District 2)

• Shawn Perry (D)

• Paul Corderman, i (R)

State House of Delegates (District 1C)

• Carrie Hinton (D)

• Terry Baker (R)

• Charlotte McBrearty (G)

State House of Delegates (District 2B)

• Brooke Grossman (D)

• Brenda Thiam, i (R)

6th Congressional District

• David Trone, i (D)

• Neil Parrot (R)

Board of Education

• Fredrick I. Chavis (Nonpartisan)

• Darrell E. Evans, i (Nonpartisan)

• Mike Guessford, i (Nonpartisan)

• Ethan J. Loewen (Nonpartisan)

• Linda Murray, i (Nonpartisan)

• Anthony Williams (Nonpartisan)

County Sheriff

• Junior McLeod (D)

• Brian Albert (R)

Register of Wills

• Jason A. Malott, i (D)

• Lacy M. Flook (R)

Results:2022 Maryland Election Results

Print and return emailed mail-in ballots

Voters should print their ballot received by email. Only ballots that are printed, completed, and returned will be counted. The State Board of Elections website says the following:

“You must mail or hand deliver your mail-in ballot to a voting location, a ballot drop off box, or your local board of elections. You cannot email or fax your voted mail-in ballot.”

More:2022 Washington County Election Results

What time are polls open in Maryland?

In-person polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Those who are in line by 8 p.m. are entitled to vote.

If you received a mail-in ballot but choose to vote in person, bring your ballot and envelope to the polls. If you applied for a mail-in ballot but didn’t receive one, you can still vote in person at the polls by provisional ballot.

Where do I vote in MD?

Mail-in ballots were sent in October, with early voting taking place until Nov. 3. However, if you haven't sent in a mail-in ballot but aren't sure where to vote, you can find your polling place here.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: MD Election Day 2022: Dan Cox casts ballot in Frederick