Election Integrity & Fraud Watch Series

By Michael Phillips | MDBayNews Investigations

Maryland’s election system is not being stolen.
But in multiple legislative and local races, the number of voters who received the wrong ballot exceeded the margin of victory — and almost no one noticed.

Using audits, public records, county documents, and firsthand accounts from election judges and county staff, MDBayNews reviewed weaknesses Maryland still hasn’t addressed. The vulnerabilities we found are not conspiratorial; they’re procedural, uneven across counties, and quietly significant in close races.

State officials insist the system is “secure.”
The available documents paint a more complicated picture.

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When Errors Exceed the Margin of Victory

Maryland’s own audit materials show cases where wrong-ballot counts surpassed the winning margin.

Documented Examples:

1. 2022 Democratic Primary — House of Delegates, District 17

• Margin of Victory: 312 votes
• Wrong Ballots Issued: 387
  (Montgomery County 2022 Post-Election Audit, Appendix B)

2. 2022 Republican Primary — House of Delegates, District 39

• Margin of Victory: 98 votes
• Wrong Ballots: County declined to release totals
  (MoCo PIA response #22-487)

3. 2023 Municipal Election — Rockville City Council (At-Large)

• Margin for final seat: 62 votes
• Incorrect Ballots: At least 79 misassigned voters reported in precinct-level reconciliation
  (Rockville 2023 Reconciliation Summary, precincts 3–4)

Again — not fraud.
But real, documented errors larger than the margins deciding real offices.

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Wrong-Ballot Errors vs. Actual Election Margins

Race	Margin	Documented Wrong Ballots
District 17 (Dem, 2022)	312 votes	387
District 39 (GOP, 2022)	98 votes	Not released
Rockville City Council (2023)	62 votes	79
MoCo countywide (2022)	—	512 misassigned voters
Dorchester (2024 early vote)	—	2 drop boxes unmonitored

These errors represent roughly 0.03–0.08% of total ballots cast — a tiny percentage until the race is decided by dozens or hundreds of votes.

Sources:
Montgomery County 2022 Post-Election Audit & Verification Report (PDF)
PIA #22-487 response (MoCo)
Dorchester County Incident Reports (10/18/24 & 10/21/24)
Rockville 2023 Reconciliation Summary

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Drop-Box Security: Maryland’s Most Uneven Safeguard

Maryland’s drop-box monitoring varies drastically by county.

Best: Howard & Carroll Counties

• 4K live video
• 180-day retention
• Dual-person retrieval teams
• Strict seal matching at each transfer

Worst: Dorchester County

• Still-image cameras (one frame every 30 seconds)
• Footage overwritten after 22 days
• Two unmonitored drop boxes during the 2024 early-voting period
  (Incident Reports 10/18/24, 10/21/24)

Maryland has no statewide video retention rule, meaning “security” depends entirely on county budget and policy.

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Chain-of-Custody: Quiet, Uneven, and Overlooked

Some counties maintain near-perfect chain-of-custody (CoC) logs. Others do not.

Strong CoC counties

• Howard
• Montgomery
• Harford

Weak or inconsistent CoC counties

• Dorchester
• Wicomico
• Somerset
• Garrett

Examples from real logs:

“Seal replaced — reason unknown.”
— Wicomico drop-box log (2024)

“Driver delivered ballots; receiving official not present.”
— Somerset Co. log (2022)

These aren’t intentional breaches — but they are structural vulnerabilities.

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Mail-In Ballots: Small Issues That Become Big in Close Races

Maryland’s mail-in ballot usage is rising. SBE’s weekly reporting shows 2026 mail requests already 41% above 2022 levels.

Key weaknesses since 2022:

1. Rising Signature Rejections

Baltimore City rejected 2.5% of mail ballots in 2024 — highest statewide.

2. Military/Overseas Delays

Internal SBE emails show 12–18 day USPS delays to APO/FPO voters in 2024.

3. Duplicate Ballots

Anne Arundel County’s 10/17/24 internal memo cites database syncing issues that created duplicates.

Again, small counts individually — but decisive when margins are razor-thin.

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Election Judges Say Training Still Isn’t Sufficient

Election judge feedback across multiple counties shows:

• outdated training videos
• little to no troubleshooting practice
• no live simulations of high-volume turnout
• long lines caused by tablet and scanner failures
• widespread confusion about provisional ballots

“The training didn’t match the equipment we got.”
— Montgomery County, 2024

“Nobody knew how to clear scanner jams.”
— Prince George’s County, 2022

Thousands of ballots depend on hourly workers given minimal preparation.

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What Officials Say

To be fair, Maryland election officials strongly dispute that these errors threaten outcomes.

SBE spokesperson Nikki Charlson said:

“These issues represent a very small fraction of ballots cast and do not indicate systemic problems.”

County directors cite:

• updated 2026 training
• new pollbooks (in some counties)
• expanded curing for mail ballots

But three realities remain:

1. No statewide CoC standard
2. No statewide camera retention minimum
3. No obligation to publish wrong-ballot totals before certification

The most important metrics remain largely hidden from the public.

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Five Low-Cost Fixes Maryland Can Implement Before 2026

1. Mandate 90-day drop-box video retention statewide

Longer in high-turnout periods.

2. Require one uniform, timestamped chain-of-custody form

Same signatures, same seals, same timestamps for all 24 counties.

3. Add a mandatory 500-ballot stress-test training module

Real equipment, real scenarios, real troubleshooting.

4. Publish wrong-ballot totals before certification

No more hiding the most important number.

5. Post a weekly UOCAVA/mail-delay dashboard

Especially for military and overseas voters.

These fixes are cheap, fast, and already working in Maryland’s best-performing counties.

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Have a Tip About Maryland’s Elections?

If you’ve witnessed:

• ballot issues
• chain-of-custody problems
• drop-box irregularities
• mail delays
• misassigned voters
• internal memos
• or anything that deserves a closer look

You can contact MDBayNews Investigations confidentially:
tips@mdbaynews.com

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Appendix: Key Sources

Audits & Official Reports
– Montgomery County 2022 Post-Election Audit: 512 misassigned voters; 387 wrong ballots in District 17.
– Maryland SBE Audit Summaries (2022–2024): scanner errors, mail-ballot rejections, provisional handling issues.

PIA Records
– MoCo PIA #22-487: County withheld District 39 wrong-ballot totals.
– Wicomico PIA (2024): missing signatures, seal changes in drop-box logs.
– Dorchester PIA (2024): two unmonitored drop boxes; footage overwritten after 22 days.

Internal County Documents
– Anne Arundel Memo (10/17/24): duplicate ballots from database sync errors.
– SBE Emails (June–July 2024): 12–18 day UOCAVA delays.

Interviews (2022–2024)
– Election judges and county staff reporting training gaps, device errors, and provisional-ballot confusion.

Election Records
– District 17 (2022): 312-vote margin vs. 387 wrong ballots.
– District 39 (2022): 98-vote margin; county declined wrong-ballot data.