Maryland Officials Can Count Mail-In Ballots Before Election Day: Judge

Mail-in ballots may be counted earlier than Election Day, a decide in Maryland has dominated.

Maryland regulation states that officers cannot begin tabulating mail-in ballots till “8 a.m. on the Wednesday following election day.” However ready that lengthy would imply outcomes couldn’t be verified inside 10 days after an election, as required by one other regulation, Maryland Circuit Decide James Bonifant wrote in an 11-page ruling on Sept. 23.

Bonifant granted a request from the Maryland State Board of Elections, which claimed {that a} one-time suspension of the previous regulation was required due to “emergency circumstances.”

Counting of mail-in ballots after main elections earlier this yr led to delayed election certifications, and with out the flexibility to begin counting absentee ballots earlier than Election Day, native, statewide, and federal contests won’t be licensed till late December or January 2023, the board mentioned in a press release in August because it filed a petition with the courtroom.

State Del. Dan Cox, a Republican who’s working for governor, intervened within the case. He mentioned that the state’s request shouldn’t be granted as a result of no emergency exists.

Bonifant acknowledged that the state of affairs was foreseen by state legislators, who handed a invoice that may allow officers to depend mail-in ballots earlier than Election Day. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, vetoed the invoice.

The decide mentioned that “the total extent of the tough state of affairs brought on by so many mail-in ballots didn’t materialize till the first election occurred this previous summer season,” necessitating the ruling.

“This Courtroom doesn’t imagine it’s violating the State Structure by granting the State Board’s requested reduction. On the contrary, the Courtroom believes it’s exercising the powers granted to it underneath the Structure to resolve a case between competing events who’ve completely different views on the interpretation of the regulation,” he concluded.

Cox’s marketing campaign didn’t reply to a request for remark.

“We’re very impressed with Decide Bonifant’s thoughtfulness and the care that he gave this ruling. Some very fascinating authorized questions arose,” one in all his attorneys told The Baltimore Sun.

Hogan, Board Help Resolution

Hogan, who’s barred by time period limits from working for one more time period, mentioned he welcomed the choice.

Permitting early canvassing labored effectively in the course of the pandemic, which was allowed by Hogan, the governor mentioned, “however partisan legislators dropped the ball on adopting our profitable strategy, making this step obligatory.”

The board mentioned that the choice means native officers throughout Maryland can begin counting ballots on Oct. 1.

“This ruling offers election officers with extra time to canvass and tabulate these ballots to make sure that all essential election-related deadlines established by regulation are met. It additionally allows elections officers to return to a well-established strategy of canvassing mail-in ballots previous to Election Day, which was allowed within the 2020 Normal Election,” the board added.

Maryland Sen. Cheryl Kagan, a Democrat who penned the invoice Hogan vetoed, mentioned on Twitter she was “thrilled and relieved” by the “well-reasoned ruling.”