The Maryland State Board of Elections was made aware of an error in its printed mail-in ballots, resulting in some voters receiving the wrong party ballot for next month's primary election.
The state said in a May 15 release: "In order to maintain the highest level of confidence and accuracy in mail-in voting, [the state elections board] is working with the vendor to send replacement mail-in ballots. While it is possible only a small number of voters received the wrong ballot, and most voters received the correct ballot, all voters must be issued a replacement ballot."
The state said the error only affects voters who were mailed a ballot before May 14. If a voter requested and received their mail-in ballot by web delivery, their ballot will not be affected. All affected voters will be notified.
“We are diligently working to address this error and provide clear instructions to those affected as quickly as possible,” Maryland State Administrator of Elections Jared DeMarinis said in the release. “The state and local boards of elections remain committed to running an election that is verified, secure and accurate. Mail-in voting is an integral facet of the electoral process. With over 500,000 voters requesting mail-in ballots, we want to eliminate any doubt in its integrity or accuracy that is why I have arranged the sending of replacement ballots.”
DeMarinis emphasized, “Please be assured that we are actively answering phones and responding to emails and will remain transparent as we navigate through this situation. We will make every effort to ensure that everyone affected knows the situation and how to cast their ballot. Every vote matters, your voice will be heard, and our elections will remain verified, open, transparent and secure.”
Taylor Print & Visual Impressions, the printer of the ballots, said in a statement, "We understand the seriousness of this matter and the importance of accuracy and trust in all election related communications. Upon identifying the issue, we immediately began working closely with our customer and election officials to investigate the cause, implement corrective actions, and support the timely delivery of accurate materials to affected voters."
Maryland residents who were impacted will receive a replacement ballot. The second and correct ballot will read "replacement ballot."
The Maryland Freedom Caucus, chaired by Del. Matt Morgan (R-St. Mary's), released a statement following the announcement of the mistaken ballots that were mailed.
The statement blamed "Democrats and the bureaucrats over at the board of elections," and said in part, "After it was brought to light that roughly 400,000 mail-in ballots were sent out incorrectly, voters who received these flawed ballots will now receive a second ballot according to the state. Many people's mail-in votes could be erroneously submitted using the old ballot and their vote suppressed."
The caucus called on the elections board to release voter rolls to the federal government "so a proper audit can be conducted."
The state said if a Maryland resident has any questions about their mail-in ballots, contact the state at 410-269-2840 or absentee.SBE@maryland.gov.
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