ANNAPOLIS (March 29, 2024) – The State Board of Elections (SBE) recently announced that nearly 600,000 voters have already requested a mail-in ballot for the upcoming Presidential Primary Election. This represents almost the same amount of requested mail-in ballots from the 2022 General Election. SBE anticipates the demand for requests to exceed the 2022 General Election and for the 2024 Presidential Primary Election to be the highest mail-in ballot election in Maryland’s history in a non-COVID year.
Ballots for the Primary Election started to be sent to UOCAVA voters on March 27, 2024. Voters who requested their ballot be delivered via the web for them to print and return in their own envelope began to be delivered today, March 29, 2024. The vendor is producing ballot packets by county for voters who requested their ballot be mailed and many have been sent today, March 29, 2024.
SBE had intended to send all mail-in ballots to voters on the same day for this election. However, staggered delivery dates per jurisdiction became necessary to ensure quality control. SBE’s vendor that sends the mail-in ballots by USPS to the voters experienced a delay in production related to ballot tracking. Ballot tracking is a top priority of the State Board to ensure the integrity and security of the mail-in ballot program. This minor delay in the release of the mail-in ballots ensures that the USPS ballot tracking provided by the vendor is effective and accurate. No mail-in ballots were sent to a voter without this tracking method. Mail-in ballots that were requested in advance will continue to be sent as produced by the vendor with an end date of no later than Monday, April 8. Any requests for a mail-in ballot by a voter after the initial batch will be processed without any disruption to the normal business process and delivery schedule. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot to be delivered by USPS is Tuesday, May 7 and to be delivered by web is Friday, May 10.
“Our goal is for voters to look to SBE as the trusted source for all things election related and to make the 2024 Primary Election process secure and transparent to ensure voter confidence,” said State Administrator Jared DeMarinis. “The tracking information on returned ballots will ensure confidence in the security of election administration for mail-in voting. As soon as a ballot is placed in the USPS system, we can track its delivery to the local board for canvassing. Once received at the local board, the voter will be notified of its receipt. So, make a plan to vote and VOTE.”
According to SBE, if you haven’t already requested a mail-in ballot but would like one, there is still time. Go to http://vote.md.gov/NEEDBALLOT
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