ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WBFF) — Congress is now looking for answers from Maryland’s Board of Elections after the mail-in ballot mistake that sparked confusion as some voters received the wrong party primary ballot.
Republicans on the U.S. House Administration Committee sent a letter to State Board of Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis on May 26 seeking answers to several questions about how the state of Maryland is going to ensure election integrity while making sure this mistake doesn’t happen again.
Maryland’s ballot vendor made the mistake, according to DeMarinis, and now the state sent new mail-in ballots to people who requested one because there was no way of knowing for sure who got the wrong ballot.
“The State and Local Boards of Elections remain committed to running an election that is verified, secure and accurate,” DeMarinis said. “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.”
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Congressman Bryan Steil, chair of the House Administration Committee, said in the letter to DeMarinis that while the State Board of Elections took the precautions to void the incorrect batch of ballots, “distributing over half a million additional replacement ballots risks creating immense logistical strain and potentially undermines public confidence in the nation’s elections.”
In an interview with FOX45 News, Republican Congressman Morgan Griffith of Virginia who signed the letter said he understands the vendor made the mistake, but the committee wants more clarity on next steps.
“What precautions did you have in place to prevent this type of an error? And what are you going to do in the future to make sure it never happens again?,” he said. “And I’m not so sure that again, if there’s a close election that that there aren’t going to be challenges based on that error.”
The vendor in question, Taylor Print and Visual Impressions, Inc., could not accurately identify which voters did and did not receive correct ballots. In a previous statement, the company indicated steps have been taken to prevent future problems.
“We have implemented additional quality control and verification measures to help prevent this type of issue from occurring in the future,” Taylor Print and Visual Impressions, Inc. said via statement.
The members on the congressional committee gave the SBE until June 9 to respond to the questions. If that doesn’t happen, Congressman Griffith said there may be a hearing.
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“If they open up the books and show us everything, then I don’t think there’s any need for him to necessarily come in for a formal hearing with the committee,” Griffith said. “If they’re stonewalling, then I suspect you’ll see him being called in in front of the committee to answer questions under oath.”
DeMarinis has not held a news conference about the problem, but he is expected to speak Thursday afternoon at a regularly scheduled Board of Elections meeting.
The latest timeline for new ballots, according to the most recent update from DeMarinis, indicates replacement ballots were sent Tuesday afternoon to voters in: Anne Arundel, Cecil, Charles, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Queen Anne’s, and Washington Counties.
Wednesday morning, replacement ballots were mailed, according to DeMarinis, to voters in: Baltimore City, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Dorchester, Garrett, Kent, Prince George’s, St. Mary’s, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico, and Worcester Counties.
By the end of Thursday, all replacement ballots will have been mailed out, he added. Voters who have been impacted will get instructions with their ballot packet, though voters “must remember to dispose of their original ballot.”
By the end of tomorrow, all replacement ballots will be mailed out, which is two days ahead of the scheduled May 29th deadline date previously given by our vendor.
Replacement ballots can be returned via drop box, at an early voting center during early voting, at a polling place on Election Day, at a local board of elections or postmarked no later than June 23.
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