As Maryland grapples with its 2024 primaries, a series of troubling incidents have emerged, shaking voter confidence and highlighting significant flaws in the state’s electoral process. The mishandling of early voting in Hancock, issues with duplicate ballots in Baltimore City, and vote discrepancies in Prince George’s County have collectively underscored the need for comprehensive election reforms. Simply put, the Maryland elections in 2024 have been a disaster, and I’m terrified what November will bring.
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Early Voting Controversy in Hancock
The situation in Hancock, where the State Board of Elections rejected the establishment of an early voting center, has sparked considerable backlash. Washington County leaders have filed a lawsuit alleging negligence and procedural violations by the Board. This controversy has not only undermined the integrity of the electoral system (especially with many speculating that Hancock was rejected only because of its conservative leanings) but also raised serious concerns about voter disenfranchisement. The lawsuit demanded a thorough investigation into the decision-making process, calling for accountability and transparency from the Board of Elections. Ultimately, Washington County was forced to choose an alternative to Hancock, further disenfranchising the western and most disconnected part of the county.
Baltimore City Duplicate Ballots
Compounding the issues, Baltimore City experienced a significant error with duplicate ballots. During a post-election verification audit, it was discovered that the unofficial election night results overreported the number of votes by approximately 590. The discrepancy, caused by human error, was attributed to the failure to upload results from three ballot scanners and the duplication of results from five precincts. While the State Board of Elections has reassured the public that all votes have now been accurately tabulated, this incident highlights the need for stricter oversight and improved election night reporting procedures.
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Prince George’s County Vote Discrepancy
In Prince George’s County, a post-election audit revealed that 446 mail-in ballots had not been scanned during the initial canvass. The oversight occurred due to the relocation of the canvassing site, during which a bin of ballots was overlooked. Although the ballots were later scanned, leading to the recertification of the results, this incident underscores the necessity for robust audit procedures and better logistical planning to prevent such errors in the future. Even more embarrassing, the State Board of Elections somehow issued this press release on May 32nd? The fact that anyone at the State Board of Elections would label a press release as being released on the 32nd of any month does not give me much confidence in their abilities to properly manage our state elections.
Legal Challenges and Legislative Actions
These issues lend credibility to the ongoing lawsuit against the Maryland State Board of Elections, which alleges systemic problems with voter roll accuracy, voting system errors, and lack of transparency. The plaintiffs argue that the Board’s failure to maintain accurate voter rolls and its improper handling of voting systems have compromised the electoral process. The outcome of this case, now being heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th District, could have significant implications for election integrity in Maryland.
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Adding to the complexity, Maryland recently enacted House Bill 333, aimed at combating election misinformation and disinformation. While the bill’s intent is to enhance electoral integrity, it has raised concerns about potential overreach and the impact on free speech, particularly for satirical and parody content. Critics argue that the broad language of the bill could stifle legitimate political commentary and reporting, emphasizing the need for careful implementation to balance election security with First Amendment rights.
Moving Forward: A Call for Reform
The multitude of problems in Maryland’s 2024 primaries highlights the urgent need for electoral reforms. Ensuring the accuracy, transparency, and reliability of the voting process is paramount to maintaining public trust. This includes improving procedural safeguards, enhancing audit mechanisms, and ensuring that all election-related activities are conducted with the highest level of integrity.
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As Maryland prepares for the general election in November, it is crucial that state and local election officials address these issues proactively. Strengthening election administration and upholding transparency will be key to restoring voter confidence and ensuring that every Marylander can participate in a fair and accurate electoral process.
The State Board of Elections needs to right the ship quickly, because I’m honestly terrified what November is going to bring.
Opinion article by Ken Buckler. All opinions are his own, and do not reflect those of our sponsors or clients.
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Having participated as an election judge for the 2024 primaries I can only attest to my experience here in Washington County MD and believe the county does a very decent job of maintaining checks and balances throughout the voting process.
While no system is perfect, the Washington County BoE, staff, and election judges do in my opinion take on the challenges of maintaining an orderly and high integrity voting process to allow for elections that were for the primaries far from a impending disaster.
Regarding the decision by the State BoE to not use Hancock, MD as an early voting site, or for that matter any early voting site west of I-81, is arguably poor judgement. Having the three early voting sites (Virginia Ave., Boonsboro, and Smithsburg) in the eastern half of Washington County is questionable. Certainly the WC BoE can provide data (total numbers of voters registered and total number of votes cast for each site) to show the validity or lack thereof to perhaps justify whether Smithsburg or Boonsboro was a better choice than Hancock might be.
While I cannot speak to the Baltimore City or PG County concerns, I can attest that the Washington County BoE and staff do their part to ensure that all those entitled by state law to vote are given the opportunity to cast a ballot even it be provisional.
The election judges work diligently along with staff to maintain the highest of standards for the citizens of Washington County Maryland.
In short, the citizens of Washington County should be proud that we had forty polling places open for the primary, all equipped, staffed, with accuracy, transparency, checks-and-balances in place to afford a timely and trustworthy election… only to be repeated once more in November.
WB
Thank you for your comments Will! We hope that the rest of the state follows Washington County’s Board of Elections exemplary efforts on how to properly hold an election.