MARYLAND (WBFF) — In person early voting started Thursday, ahead of the June 23 primary election.
Early voting will take place from June 11 to June 18, daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters who are in line by 8 p.m. will still be allowed to cast a ballot.
“If you don’t complete the process, you can’t complain about what’s going on in the world,” said Richard, who was voting in Baltimore.
“You go to the grocery store, you go to supermarkets, you go to your shopping stores because you want something,” he added. “So if you want something, come to the local places and get what you want and let your voice be heard.
As votes are trickling in, there’s been scrutiny over a mail-in ballot printing error, which caused the state to send replacement ballots to a half million Maryland voters.
State elections officials are encouraging voters to cast their votes using only the replacement ballots. However, on Tuesday, the state elections board approved a plan which would count the original ballots if they are the only ballot cast and the voter’s party affiliation matches the ballot.
“We still want every voter to vote with the replacement ballot but, in the end, we still want every voter heard and enfranchise everyone,” Jared DeMarinis, Maryland’s State Administrator of Elections, said.
DeMarinis assured voters that Maryland’s elections were safe, secure and verified.
However, some lawmakers have voiced concerns about Maryland’s election integrity, which comes as the Department of Justice is investigating.
“I’m not going to reach any conclusions about it, but they’re claiming it was a vendor error but ballots got sent out with the wrong party affiliation,” Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights, said.
“Maryland is already in litigation with us because they refuse to hand over voter rolls. This incident further erodes confidence by voters that these people are either incompetent or deliberately not enabling the votes of certain Americans,” Dhillon added.
“When you get into ‘what if this happens or what if that happens’, then you’re losing trust in the system because it makes it sound like those who are operating the system don’t really understand the full problem,” Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey said.
Marylanders can register when they cast their vote during early voting or on Primary Election Day (Tuesday, June 23.) Make sure to bring a document that proves where you live when you attempt to vote at your local polling place or early voting center.
A complete list of early voting centers is available online at vote.md.gov/vote2026
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