Oops, wrong ballot: Maryland mail-in fiasco hands GOP new ammunition in voter-roll battle
Maryland election officials are scrambling to contain a full-blown mail-ballot fiasco after thousands of voters reportedly received the wrong primary ballots — a blunder Republicans say is exactly why Americans no longer trust the system.
The problem exploded after a state contractor mistakenly mailed incorrect party ballots to some of the more than 400,000 Maryland voters who requested mail-in ballots for next month’s primary election. Now, state officials are racing to send replacement ballots while telling voters to shred the originals and pretend this never happened. Naturally, conservatives aren’t buying the “nothing to see here” routine.
The Maryland Freedom Caucus is demanding federal scrutiny of the state’s voter rolls and election procedures, warning that flooding the system with replacement ballots creates yet another opening for confusion, mistakes and potential abuse. “The Maryland Freedom Caucus is calling on Secretary of the Election Board, Jared DeMarinis, to immediately release Maryland’s voter rolls to the federal government so a proper audit can be conducted to determine the sources of the mistake,” the group said.
The caucus also blasted the state’s plan to simply remail ballots en masse without clearly explaining how officials will distinguish valid ballots from defective ones already circulating across the state. “We caution against reissuing another 400,000 ballots and we demand to know how the state intends to differentiate between the first and second printing of these ballots,” the statement continued.
And here’s the question hanging over the entire mess: What exactly happens when voters accidentally send back the wrong ballot anyway? “The citizens have a right to know the exact process by which ballots will be scrutinized,” the caucus added. “With 400,000 double ballots in circulation, we need to be absolutely sure that there is one vote, one person.”
The problem exploded after a state contractor mistakenly mailed incorrect party ballots to some of the more than 400,000 Maryland voters who requested mail-in ballots for next month’s primary election. Now, state officials are racing to send replacement ballots while telling voters to shred the originals and pretend this never happened. Naturally, conservatives aren’t buying the “nothing to see here” routine.
The Maryland Freedom Caucus is demanding federal scrutiny of the state’s voter rolls and election procedures, warning that flooding the system with replacement ballots creates yet another opening for confusion, mistakes and potential abuse. “The Maryland Freedom Caucus is calling on Secretary of the Election Board, Jared DeMarinis, to immediately release Maryland’s voter rolls to the federal government so a proper audit can be conducted to determine the sources of the mistake,” the group said.
The caucus also blasted the state’s plan to simply remail ballots en masse without clearly explaining how officials will distinguish valid ballots from defective ones already circulating across the state. “We caution against reissuing another 400,000 ballots and we demand to know how the state intends to differentiate between the first and second printing of these ballots,” the statement continued.
And here’s the question hanging over the entire mess: What exactly happens when voters accidentally send back the wrong ballot anyway? “The citizens have a right to know the exact process by which ballots will be scrutinized,” the caucus added. “With 400,000 double ballots in circulation, we need to be absolutely sure that there is one vote, one person.”
70-79, M
