Maryland local election boards to get early start Monday on mail-in ballots
BALTIMORE — Mail-in ballots are starting to roll in across the Baltimore region as Maryland’s May 14 primary election draws near, with some jurisdictions preparing to process ballots as soon as Monday.
According to the Maryland State Board of Elections, approximately 558,000 ballots have been sent to voters statewide for a primary with two presumptive presidential nominees — incumbent President Joe Biden, a Democrat, and former Republican President Donald Trump — at the top. In turn, voters have sent in 17% of those ballots to local election offices with their choices.
More than 49,000 ballots had been sent to Baltimore primary voters. According to the latest information available Saturday on the state elections board website, nearly 6,000 city voters sent in completed ballots as of Thursday night.
“We are scanning them in as they come in,” Abigail Goldman, the city’s acting elections director, told The Baltimore Sun in an email.
In addition to starting the canvass of mail-in ballots — opening, assembling and reviewing them to prepare for tallying votes — on Monday, Baltimore City will hold additional mail-in ballot canvassing dates as necessary.
According to the state elections board website:
•Baltimore County voters had received more than 77,000 ballots and cast just over 13,000.
•Nearly 35,000 Howard County voters requested ballots, and just over 5,000 of them had completed the forms and sent them in.
•In Carroll County, 13,700 voters asked for mail-in ballots, with about 3,800 casting them.
•A little more than 18,000 ballots were sent to residents in Harford County, which has received nearly 5,300 returns.
•Anne Arundel County voters received more than 59,000 ballots, and 8,400 have mailed in their choices.
In addition to Baltimore City, boards of elections for Anne Arundel, Carroll and Harford counties will begin the mail-in canvass Monday. That’s the first day they can do so under state law.
Baltimore County will begin its mail-in canvass Wednesday at its Owings Mills office “and will continue daily as needed,” according to a plan it filed with the state elections board. “At the end of each canvass day, the date and time of the next canvass day will be announced. Results of the canvass will be embargoed until after election day.”
The Howard elections board will start its mail-in canvass Sunday.
Members of the public may observe the canvass, which is required to be streamed online so voters can follow it from home, said Democratic state Sen. Cheryl Kagan of Montgomery County. She is vice chair of the Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee, which has jurisdiction over election legislation.
When voters adopted mail-in balloting in large numbers during the coronavirus pandemic election of 2020, then-Gov. Larry Hogan issued an executive order allowing election boards to canvass on an emergency basis the ballots received early. In 2022, the General Assembly passed legislation, sponsored by Kagan, to make an early canvass a regular part of the election process. Hogan, a Republican, vetoed the bill. However, some jurisdictions were able to start the general election canvass before Election Day after to a court ruling.
The legislature passed Kagan’s bill again in 2023, and Democratic Gov. Wes Moore signed it, moving the regular start of the mail-in canvass statewide from two days after an election to as early as eight days before the start of early voting.
Voters have until May 7 to make a request to the state elections board to send them a ballot by mail or fax. Requests to receive a ballot via the internet must received by May 10. Voters must return completed ballots by official ballot drop box or hand them to a local elections official by 8 p.m. May 14. Ballots sent by mail must postmarked no later than May 14 and received by May 24.
Early, in-person voting runs May 2 through May 9.
Beyond choosing their presidential nominees, Maryland Republicans and Democrats will cast ballots in statewide races to nominate candidates to replace U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin. Also at stake are Maryland’s U.S. House seats, including three open contests, and in Baltimore, nominating contests for mayor, City Council president and council members.
As the mail-in voting process’ veracity has been questioned in recent years, area election officials are on alert.
Harford Board of Elections Director Stephanie Taylor said her jurisdiction will take the same precautionary measures this year as during the 2022 election and that she does not foresee any problems arising with ballot counting or at voting facilities.
Goldman also said she does not anticipate any issues in Baltimore City ahead of the primary.
Asked whether any new precautions will be taken to protect this year’s mail-in voting process, David Garreis, the director of the Anne Arundel elections board, said his county is heeding guidelines and recommendations set by the State Board of Elections and law enforcement. He said the safety of staff, voters and those who count ballots is “extremely important” and that preparations for the primary are “well underway” in Anne Arundel.
“We don’t foresee any issues with our facilities for Election Day, Early Voting, or during the mail-in ballot canvasses,” Garreis said in an email. “Our team is working hard to prepare for every contingency during the Election.”
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