The Montgomery County Board of Elections is reminding voters that the unofficial results released on the Board’s website on election night of the 2022 Gubernatorial Primary, Tuesday, July 19, contain only those votes cast during Early Voting (July 7-14) and in the polling place on Election Day. To be counted, mail-in ballots must be postmarked no later than July 19, and the oath on the postage-paid return envelope that arrives with the ballot must be signed. Post Offices generally close by 5 p.m.
Those who choose to cast their votes using ballot drop boxes must submit their completed ballots by the final collection time – 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 19 – for their ballot to count. To identify the nearest ballot drop box and post office locator, text BOX plus zip code (example: BOX 20879) to 77788 or visit 777vote.org.
Election officials must review the returned envelopes containing voted ballots and verify the voter registration for voters who cast a provisional ballot prior to the ballot being counted. Mail-in and provisional ballots are counted in a public process by bipartisan teams of voters during the weeks following the election. Results for each ballot-counting session, referred to as the “canvasses,” are then added to the Election Day totals before the official results of the election are certified.
All canvasses, which are open to the public, begin at 10 a.m. and are held at Montgomery College’s Germantown campus at 20200 Observation Dr., BE 151/152, in Germantown.
The first canvass of mail-in ballots for the primary election will begin on Thursday, July 21. Provisional ballots are canvassed beginning the following Wednesday, July 27, and remaining mail-in ballots returned by the statutory deadline will begin being canvassed on Friday, July 29.
The Board of Canvassers will convene daily, beginning July 21, to continue canvassing remaining ballots. Additional canvass dates will be added to the schedule, based on the available volume of mail-in ballots for canvassing. A detailed schedule will be available on the Montgomery County Board of Elections website at 777vote.org. Canvasses will be open to the public and it will be livestreamed on the Board of Elections web page.
Statewide certification will follow upon completion of all tabulation. Those results may be found on the Maryland State Board of Elections’ website.
For other election information, call 240-777-8500, visit 777vote.org, the Maryland State Board of Elections’ website at http://elections.maryland.gov or follow the Montgomery County Board of Elections on Facebook or Twitter.
