Elections officials say 75% of registered voters cast ballots.
Frederick, Md (KM) The counting will continue this week from Tuesday’s General Election. Last week, the first batch of absentee ballots was counted. “But after this first absentee canvas, we added 5,719 votes total to the election night totals. So we’re now up over 75% of registered voters cast a ballot,” says Stuart Harvey, Frederick County’s Election Director.
He says the 75% turnout is not unusual. “I usually have a turnout somewhere between 75% and 80%. And obviously since we have a few thousand provisional ballots to review, we’re not sure of our universe of absentee is going to be next Friday, our percentage is certainly going to go up,” says Harvey.
As of late last week, a total f 123,783 citizens cast ballots in this year’s Presidential election, according to the Board of Elections.
Harvey says the Elections Office will count the provision ballots on Wednesday. “We have review approximately 2400 provisional ballots. And then the final canvas will be Friday, November 18th at 10:00 AM,” he says. “Those are all absentee ballots that we have not yet tabulated. And there’s going to include anything that comes in the mail by 10:00 AM November 18th that’s timely, meaning that it was postmarked no later than November 8th.”
Harvey says his staff will be finished counting on Friday, November 18th. The books will reopen on Monday, November 21st for voter registration.
He says the general election went very well this year. There was a problem at the polling station set up at Urbana Elementary School, when a squirrel got into an electrical transformer, cutting power at the building for an hour. But Harvey says battery power kept the electronic poll books and scanners operational, and the Urbana Fire Company was able to provide power until Potomac Edison could restore the electricity.
By Kevin McManus