MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS CERTIFIES 2024 GENERAL ELECTION RETURNS AFTER COUNTY VOTERS DIVIDE NEARLY EVENLY AMONG MAIL-IN BALLOTS, EARLY VOTING, AND ELECTION DAY VOTING

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, November 27, 2024

The Montgomery County Board of Elections this afternoon certified its 2024 General Election results.  The official certified county returns were transmitted to the Maryland State Board of Elections, which is scheduled to certify the statewide returns on Thursday, December 5, 2024.

“More than 523,000 votes were cast in the general election, including almost 166,000 by mail-in ballot, 156,000 at 14 early voting locations over eight days of early voting, and 175,000 at 232 polling places on Election Day.  The certified returns also included a record number of provisional ballots – more than 26,000 of them were found to be eligible and were counted.  Roughly two-thirds of those were cast on Election Day and roughly one-third were cast during early voting.  We count every eligible vote,” said Board President David A. Naimon. 

Maryland law requires mail-in ballots that are postmarked by Election Day and received by 10 a.m. on the second Friday after the election to be counted.  Montgomery County’s number of mail-in ballots was the most of any jurisdiction in the State, and more than 50,000 more mail-in ballots than the next closest jurisdiction.  The record number of provisional ballots were required to be researched by Board of Elections staff to determine whether the ballots were eligible to be counted.  Certification can come only after all of these eligible ballots have been received and processed, and the local Board is required by state law to transmit the official certified county returns to the State on the second Friday after the election or, if the canvass is completed after that date (as has always been the case in Maryland’s most populous jurisdiction), within 48 hours after the completion of the canvass.

In addition to accepting more than 523,000 ballots for counting, the Board was required by state law to reject more than 2,000 ballots for a variety of reasons.  “Unfortunately, we were required to reject hundreds of mail-in or provisional ballots because the voter didn’t include or didn’t sign the oath, left out other crucial information on the provisional ballot application, or the mail-in ballot was postmarked after Election Day,” said Board Secretary Amoretta M. (Amie) Hoeber.  “These simple errors are easily correctable.  For example, more than 600 voters returned untimely mail-in ballots.  If mail-in ballot voters mail their ballots earlier or use one of the 58 drop boxes across the county, many of these errors can be avoided or corrected in time for the votes to be counted.” 

“We will be looking at ways to communicate with voters about how to make sure their votes will be counted,” Naimon added, “and we’ll be working to have fewer provisional ballots in the future to save voters’ time, lessen wait times at the polls, and get election results to the public as soon as possible.”

A total of 523,824 voters (76.64% of eligible voters) cast ballots in Montgomery County, MD. For detailed Montgomery County election results, visit www.777vote.org, or for Statewide election results, visit www.elections.maryland.gov.

The Official Pre-Election Canvass began on Tuesday, October 15, 2024 (three weeks before General Election Day), and continued through Monday, November 25, 2024 (almost three weeks after Election Day). During the canvass period, all timely eligible mail-in and researched provisional ballots were reviewed and tallied once verified. Learn more about the canvass process on our website at www.777vote.org.

Board President Naimon thanked Governor Wes Moore and the Maryland General Assembly for enacting legislation in 2023 to provide for the early start of the mail-in ballot canvass, and credited Montgomery County Election Director Boris Brajkovic and his hard-working staff, all of his Board colleagues, and the thousands of election workers who helped administer the 2024 general election. 

“We appreciate all of the planning and hard work that went into administering and counting the ballots in this election,” Naimon said. “While Maryland law and the number and timing of our voters dictate how long it takes to count our ballots, we’ll continue to count the votes accurately and as quickly as possible, consistent with state law.”

For election information, call 240-777-8500, visit www.777vote.org, the Maryland State Board of Elections website at www.elections.maryland.gov, or follow the Montgomery County Board of Elections on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Your Voice, Your Vote!

 

Media Contact: Gilberto Zelaya  240-777-8625