(ANNAPOLIS – August 8, 2022) – The State Board of Elections (SBE) was notified that the Frederick County Board of Elections will decertify the results from the 2022 Primary Election and reconvene this week to rescan all mail-in and provisional ballots counted in these post-election canvasses.
While preparing for the recount for Democratic nomination for County Council District 3, the Frederick County Board of Elections discovered a discrepancy between the total number of votes in the certified results and the number of accepted mail-in and provisional ballots. This discovery triggered a further review of the ballots cast in the 2022 Primary Election. The ongoing review indicates the discrepancy is due to human errors in ballot accounting that occurred during the mail-in and provisional canvassing process. As a result of this discovery, a comprehensive review of ballot accounting documents is being performed.
SBE was first briefed about the issue on August 6, 2022, and immediately started working with the Frederick County Board of Elections to provide the equipment and support necessary to conduct the rescan. SBE will continue to collaborate with the Frederick County Board of Elections and other local boards assisting with this week’s rescan of the mail-in and provisional ballots.
After the election is recertified, the State Board of Elections will work with the Frederick County Board of Elections to review its ballot accounting procedures and, where appropriate, implement best practices for ballot accounting.
