BALTIMORE, Md — Voting has already begun in Maryland with early voting starting next week in Maryland, and mail-in ballots are already being counted.
State administrator of elections, Jared DeMarinis said more than 600,000 people used mail-in voting, and more than 100,000 ballots had already been returned as of the first day of canvassing.
For voters who choose to vote by mail, DeMarinis emphasized one critical detail about the state's rules.
"I just want to make a note here, Maryland is a postmarked state. This is very important because I don't want to have anybody disenfranchised, so it has to be postmarked on or before election day," DeMarinis said.
Mail-in ballots have been the subject of voter fraud accusations, with some questioning the security of voting by mail rather than in person. DeMarinis said the process includes multiple safeguards.
"There's lots of security features associated with mail-in voting," DeMarinis said.
When asked how Maryland prevents people from voting multiple times using mail-in ballots, DeMarinis explained that the system flags voters once a mail-in ballot is received.
"There is no way that a voter can then send in another ballot, or even show up in a polling place because we have already put in the system that that voter has voted. If the voter does go into those polling place or an early voting center, they would be casting a provisional ballot, which then we would review and say no, they've already cast a mail-in ballot already. So there is safeguards to ensure double voting does not take place," DeMarinis said.
Early voting begins on the 22nd. DeMarinis said anyone with a concern about the voting process, or who sees something concerning, can contact their local board or the State Board of Elections.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
