Baltimore election director signals delay in certifying election

Glynis Kazanjian, The Baltimore Sun on Nov 7, 2024

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BALTIMORE — Baltimore City election director Armstead Jones said Thursday he does not think the Board of Elections will meet the state’s mandatory deadline to certify the 2024 Presidential Election.

All local election boards are required to certify results of the general election to the State Board of Elections by Nov. 15, which is the second Friday after an election, according to the board of election website.

“We will have a challenge in getting this process of certifying the election completed,” Jones said during a TikTok video for The Sun at the city’s election warehouse. “I know we will not meet the mandate date for doing that. That is something we’ll have to discuss with the state.”

Jones referenced a historical volume of mail-in ballots as one of the reasons. According to the latest update on the State Board of Elections website, Baltimore City could have as many as 51,000 remaining mail-in ballots to be canvassed, if the majority of the requested mail-in ballots are returned. “We are in the process of scanning ballots that have been received by mail,” Jones said. “There are more than we’ve ever had. The numbers of voting across the city was very high.”

He added: “There are quite a few provisional ballots that have been cast that need to be checked to make sure the person is eligible to vote and has not voted a regular ballot.”

After local election boards certify their results, the state then has its own certification deadline to meet: 30 days after an election. The state board must certify Maryland’s election on Dec. 5, according to their website.

In an effort to get further information about the possibility of a delayed certification, The Sun contacted Jones, who said through an office worker, he believes it will be hard to meet the deadline, but he is working to meet it. Jones did not respond to follow-up questions sent via email.

Efforts to reach the state board about whether they grant extensions for certification went unanswered.

Hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots remain to be processed and counted across the state.

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