ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Tomorrow, October 15, 2024, marks the first day that mail-in ballots in Maryland will be canvassed for the 2024 General Election. Local boards of elections can begin the process of opening, reviewing and counting the more than 262,000 mail-in ballots that voters have returned thus far.
According to Maryland law, local boards of elections meet eight days prior to the start of Early Voting – October 15 – to begin canvassing mail-in ballots that have been returned. Members of both political parties must observe the canvass. Additional canvassing days may take place after this time, but are not to be held on Election Day, November 5.
All mail-in ballots postmarked on or before November 5 will be canvassed. Results of the canvass are not made public until after polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day.
“October 15 is the first day in a lengthy and deliberative process of canvassing every vote cast in the 2024 General Election,” said State Administrator Jared DeMarinis. “Starting the canvass process now gives our canvass teams ample time to efficiently and accurately process mail-in ballots. Ballots are canvassed in the presence of a bipartisan board of canvassers and can be observed in-person, so that Marylanders can have full faith and confidence that our electoral process is transparent, secure and reliable.”
Local boards post on their websites the dates, times and locations of their canvasses. For more information about a local board’s canvassing timeline, please contact the local board. To learn more about the vote canvassing process in Maryland, visit SBE’s canvassing webpage.
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