Some Montgomery County voters may have received two mail-in ballots because of a printing error that affected about 500,000 voters statewide, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections.
Specifically, some voters were mailed a ballot for a political party of which they are not affiliated. The mix-up happened with ballots mailed before May 14 due to a printing error caused by a Board of Elections’ vendor, according to state elections officials. The error posed an issue because Maryland has closed primary elections, meaning voters may only cast ballots in the primary for the political party in which they are registered.
“We are diligently working to address this error and provide clear instructions to those affected as quickly as possible,” said Jared DeMarinis, Maryland’s state administrator of elections in a May 15 statement. “Please be assured that we are actively answering phones and responding to emails and will remain transparent as we navigate through this situation,” DeMarinis added.
MCM contacted the State Board of Elections on Thursday seeking information about how many Montgomery County voters were affected. A spokesperson from the board’s public relations firm, KO Public Affairs, said officials do not have county-specific figures and have no way of finding out.
“Since the mail-in vendor was unable to accurately identify who received correct ballots and who did not receive correct ballots, SBE determined the only course of action to ensure the integrity and security of mail-in voting was sending all voters who requested a mail-in ballot by mail a new ballot,” wrote elections officials in a follow-up statement dated May 18.
The error affects mail-in ballots for Maryland’s June 23 gubernatorial primary election.
Received the Wrong Ballot? Here’s What to Do:
As of Monday, May 18, Maryland’s Board of Elections has published guidance on how to differentiate the original ballot mailings from the replacement mail-in ballots. Postcards are also being sent out with supplemental information. In addition, “voters should securely discard or destroy the original ballot materials they received and use only the replacement ballot sent in the new mailing,” stated the vendor in a release.
If you are one of the 500,000 residents involved in the ballot mix-up Maryland election officials said you’ll know because you should have received a second ballot in the mail, the latter labeled “REPLACEMENT” on the outside of the envelope.
Replacement ballots started shipping out Monday and officials said the new mailings should be completed by Friday, May 29.
For more information and mail-in ballots, replacements and voting in the state of Maryland, visit vote.md.gov/2026replacementmib. There is also a toll-free number voters can call: (800) 222-8683
This is an image of a physical postcard Maryland voters affected by the mail-in ballot mix up will receive the update them on their replacement ballot status.
