Help prevent election chaos in Maryland! We need every mailed-in ballot to count! And we need to protect the health of election workers and voters!
How do we do that?
We are asking everyone to begin alerting family members, friends, coworkers, and any other potential Maryland voters to please apply for a mail-in ballot asap and choose the option that has the Board of Elections send you an official ballot BY MAIL (USPS).
Please do NOT print out an absentee ballot at home on a home printer if you are able to use an official mailed ballot. (Some voters do truly need the online option…it should be used ONLY by those voters).
Why — you may ask?
When voters apply for a mail-in ballot, they can choose to receive it either via USPS (postal service) or via e-mail (online/web delivery).
Online ballots printed out at home cannot be read by tabulation scanners. They must be HAND-COPIED by teams of people onto official ballots in order to be tabulated by existing machines. In addition to the obvious risks of error or mischief, there’s a huge risk that there won’t be enough time to get all these ballots copied and counted before certification deadlines.
Please do NOT choose the online/web/e-mail option.
Choose to have your ballot mailed to your home address, and reach out to everyone you know to get them to do the same. You can request your ballot here if you haven’t already: https://voterservices.elections.maryland.gov/OnlineVoterRegistration/InstructionsStep1
Request your ballots now, rather than waiting for an application to be mailed to you by the State of Maryland.
From Gina in MD:
By the way, if you are shocked to hear home-printed ballots are hand-copied, so was I…and so was every person I’ve mentioned this to. I took the liberty of attaching a screenshot of the page I encountered when applying for my own ballot – the information is actually right there where it says “Note:…”, before the drop-down menu where you can choose how to receive your ballot. What is not explained is just how much chaos could be created if large numbers of people choose the convenience of printing out a ballot at home without realizing what happens on the receiving end of those ballots.
In addition to election chaos, this is creating serious health risks for the people who must sit in rooms together for hours hand-copying ballots! I can’t envision a scenario in which people can adequately socially-distance, while still participating in effective oversight of the ballot-copying process. Furthermore, just sitting in a room with others for hours on end is a potentially dangerous activity these days. And what happens if an election worker tests positive for Covid in the middle of the process? Or during training?
- If you are on social media, please help spread this information there
- If you are part of any group listserves, clubs, PTA’s, government agencies, media enterprises, etc., please use whatever networks you have to let others know.
- If you have connections to young voters or others who are accustomed to doing everything in life online, please encourage them to share this information with their networks.
- If you are going to the doctor, dentist, ordering take-out food, or in any other way interacting with other voters, please let them know.
This is a very simple thing we can all do to make sure our votes get counted and to help minimize the health and safety risks for people who show up to help run elections.
Here’s a link to my Letter to the Editor that was published today: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/letters-to-the-editor/marylands-online-option-for-receiving-mail-in-ballots-could-overwhelm-election-workers/2020/07/28/1939d6b8-d020-11ea-826b-cc394d824e35_story.html . If you can put this out on social media or send to friends, hopefully we can get conversations started about this issue and help spread awareness.
From Sharon in MD:
Be sure to request a Mail-In Ballot to be delivered to you by Mail and Vote this Fall — Returning the Completed Ballot by Mail or at an Election Drop-off Site (Early Voting Site or Election Day Polling Place).
These Ballots that are Mailed to You CAN be scanned with the state’s scanners. Ballots Printed at Home CANNOT.
Thanks for your attention to this serious matter!
This is particularly important given the Covid-19 situation and because this election is so important for the future of the USA.
Unlike our Primary where voters were sent absentee ballots — no request required, Hogan and the BOE are requiring voters to request a Mail-In Ballot
Via DCist: Protesters And Maryland Lawmakers Ask Hogan To Allow Mail-In Ballots Without An Application
So far, the answer has been a resounding No.