Maryland: Appeals court denies motion to delay ballot counting; election officials plan to start counting sometime in October | Emily Opilo/Baltimore Sun
A request for an emergency order to delay the start of mail-in ballot counting in Maryland has been denied by the Special Court of Appeals, allowing election officials to begin counting as soon as Saturday though many said they would not. In a one-paragraph order issued late Thursday, Judge Douglas R.M. Nazarian struck down an effort by Republican gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox to put a hold on ballot counting as he appeals a lower-court ruling allowing the process to begin as early as Saturday. The Maryland State Board of Elections asked for the early start to accommodate a deluge of mail-in ballots expected to be cast this fall. Montgomery County Circuit Judge James Bonifant sided with the board last week, agreeing the situation constitutes an emergency. Maryland law, established before the widespread use of mail-in ballots that became popular during the pandemic, forbids the canvassing of mail-in ballots until the Wednesday following an election. An additional state regulation set by the board of elections further delays that counting process until 10 a.m. the Thursday after an election. That’s the latest start in the nation for mail-in ballot counting.