Md. judge grants petition to allow earlier counting of mail-in ballots
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A Maryland judge has granted an emergency petition to allow for mail-in ballots to be counted earlier than they were during the state’s primary in July.
The petition, filed by the Maryland State Board of Elections, was granted by Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge James Bonifant on Friday. This petition will allow local elections officials across the state to begin canvassing mail-in ballots on October 1st. Bonifant wrote that with so many mail-in ballots, local boards of election would not be able to verify the results within 10 days of the General Election as required.
The state elections board said that the ruling allows election officials extra time to canvass and tabulate mail-in ballots to ensure that all critical election-related deadlines established by law are met.
Governor Larry Hogan released the following statement on the decision:
“We welcome Judge Bonifant’s decision allowing the State Board of Elections to institute early canvassing for the general election, as I did in 2020 during the pandemic. It worked well in that election, but partisan legislators dropped the ball on adopting our successful approach, making this step necessary. We thank the court for acting swiftly, and encourage Marylanders to take part in the electoral process, make sure their registration is up to date, and consider volunteering to serve as an election judge.”
Counting mail-in ballots before Election Day was allowed in 2020 during the state of emergency when voting by mail increased due to the pandemic. But, because the state of emergency expired, the state went back to a low that doesn’t allow mail-in ballots to be counted until after Election Day.
The state elections board voted 4 to 0 last month to file the emergency petition in hopes of speeding up the vote count for mail-in ballots, which have become more popular with voters across the state.
The board also noted that Maryland is currently the only state in the union that forbids any kind of processing of mail-in ballots until after Election Day, which caused delays in determining winners in July’s primary.
