Questions remain about Maryland mail-in ballot error

MARYLAND (WBFF) — With the primary election over, and candidates looking ahead to November, there are still many questions that remain about the mail-in ballot printing error caused the state to send replacement ballots to a half million Maryland voters. Officials with the State Board of Elections are hoping to get some of those answers during their next meeting.

A spokesperson for the State Board of Elections said Taylor Print & Visuals Impressions Inc, the state vendor involved, will be attending the July 23rd Board Meeting. They said their attendance will allow the board to request information from the vendor in a public forum, and to get a detailed analysis of what happened.

During a June Board meeting, Vice Chair Jim Shalleck wanted to initiate some sort of independent inquiry into the matter, while others on the board wanted to question Taylor Print and Visual Impressions first.

“It is important that we are transparent, I agree with that, but it also gives us an opportunity not to have an independent entity get ahead of us,” said board member Victoria Jackson-Stanley back in June.

“I just think the public would be more satisfied, be more transparent, if we didn’t inquire, investigate, whatever you want to call it, ourselves,” Shalleck said.

Taylor Print & Visual Impressions did not respond to a request for comment as of Tuesday evening.

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However, in a previous statement, they said, “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.”

“The State and Local Boards of Elections remain committed to running an election that is verified, secure and accurate,” Jared DeMarinis, the State Board of Elections Administrator previously said.

However, the mail-in ballot error has received scrutiny from lawmakers questioning the integrity of Maryland’s Elections.

“Maryland voters should have a system that is administered with competence and accountability,” said Delegate Robin Grammer.

“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?,” Republican Congressman Morgan Griffith of Virginia previously questioned in an interview with FOX 45.

The meeting on July 23 will be live streamed and can be watched online.