Overview
- State officials said the printing vendor reported a coding error in mid‑May and the Maryland Board of Elections mailed replacement ballots in two waves on May 26 and May 27 to voters who had requested mail ballots.
- Election workers across the state have begun reviewing returned mail ballots, but Baltimore City paused its canvass after receiving only a few dozen replacement envelopes compared with thousands of voided originals.
- The board says originals will be quarantined and voided when a replacement arrives, return envelopes carry unique identifiers to prevent double counting, and officials are urging voters to use the replacement ballot.
- The incident has drawn federal and congressional scrutiny, with the House Committee on House Administration seeking records and the Justice Department requesting preservation of documents while the vendor has accepted responsibility and agreed to cover reprinting costs.
- Voters can return replacement ballots by mail postmarked by Primary Day, cancel a mail ballot and vote in person, and officials warn that late arrivals of replacement returns could slow results for tight races on election night.