Editor's Statement on Inaccuracy of Other News Outlets Election Night Reporting

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Last night we held a hilarious, lighthearted election night live coverage, as is tradition on Radio Free Hub City. One of the items we specifically highlighted last night is that the Washington County State’s Attorney race is too close to call, because of the remaining uncounted votes. So I was quite surprised to wake up to the news that multiple outlets had declared Adam Greivell the winner, leading with only 18 votes.

This sort of reporting, calling a race that close before all ballots are counted, is sloppy and downright dangerous.

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Let me be clear here. Nobody has officially been declared the winner of any race in Maryland’s primaries. The votes haven’t all been counted yet. We still have additional mail-in, as well as provisional votes to count.

To further add to problems with this declaration, Maryland’s mail-in votes have been a disaster this year. Not only have ballots been delayed in delivery due to the Juneteenth holiday, but counting and certification is also being delayed due to the Independence Day holiday.

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With not knowing for weeks how the remaining ballots will shift the results, declaring Greivell the winner, with a strong possibility that he may lose that 18 vote lead due to mail-in and provisional ballots, is how conspiracy theories and rumors get started. Of course, maybe that’s intentional on those outlets’ behalf. What better headline to run than “Was the election stolen from Greivell?” when the votes “suddenly” shift towards the incumbent, Gina Cirincion. What drama! And drama results in more clicks, more article views.

Greivell has reached out to us regarding the current situation with the 18 vote gap, and we will followup with additional information once it is available.

Article by Ken Buckler, President and Managing Editor of Radio Free Hub City. All opinions are his own and do not reflect those of our clients or sponsors.

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