President Donald Trump weighed in on Maryland’s mail-in ballot printing error, alleging ties to “corrupt” Democrat Gov. Wes Moore and calling for an investigation by the Justice Department under acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.
“In Maryland, they sent out 500,000 Illegal Mail In Ballots, and they got caught!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, after Fox News reported the Republican National Committee’s election integrity unit’s concerns and activated a response.
“So now, they’re going to send out 500,000 more Mail In Ballots, but nobody knows what’s happening with the first 500,000 they sent. In addition, many of these Ballots went to Democrats, so any Republican running in Maryland doesn’t have a chance!”
Trump made an unsubstantiated claim that the Democratic governor might have been involved in the error that the state’s ballot printer has apologized for.
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“This was done by the Corrupt Governor of the State, Wes Moore,” Trump’s post continued. “He allowed this to happen in order to make sure that Democrats win. It never made sense to me that Maryland was considered an automatic Democrat State, but now I see why. I’m sure this has gone on for years.”
Maryland election officials have not said 500,000 illegal ballots were sent. The State Board of Elections said more than 500,000 voters requested mail-in ballots, and that a vendor error affected voters who were mailed ballots before May 14. Officials said all affected voters would be sent replacements to “maintain the integrity and security of mail-in voting.”
Trump is calling for Blanche and the Justice Department to look into the ballot handling in Maryland’s primary mail-in ballots.
“I’m going to ask the Attorney General of the United States, and the DOJ, to bring an immediate investigation into this situation,” his Monday afternoon post concluded.
State Administrator of Elections Jared DeMarinis pushed back on Trump’s claim that “illegal” ballots were distributed, saying the issue involved some voters receiving the wrong party ballot.
“Mail-in voting is an integral facet of the electoral process,” DeMarinis wrote in a statement. “With over 500,000 voters requesting mail-in ballots, we want to eliminate any doubt in its integrity or accuracy; that is why I have arranged the sending of replacement ballots.”
“Please be assured that we are actively answering phones and responding to emails and will remain transparent as we navigate through this situation,” he added. “We will make every effort to ensure that everyone affected knows the situation and how to cast their ballot. Every vote matters, your voice will be heard, and our elections will remain verified, open, transparent, and secure.”
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The state’s vendor, Taylor Print & Visual Impressions (TPVI), Inc., said replacement ballots are being prepared and mailed, and that “election officials have safeguards in place to ensure that only the corrected ballots included in the replacement mailing will be accepted and counted.”
There were no public details on those “safeguards.”
“A portion of voters received ballot packets intended for a different voter segment,” the TPVI Election Services Team wrote in a statement. “We understand the seriousness of this matter and the importance of accuracy and trust in all election-related communications.”
Notably, “all ballots will be remailed by 5/29/2026,” TPVI added, leaving it up to the recipients to destroy the first ballot they received.
“Voters should securely discard or destroy the original ballot materials they received and use only the replacement ballot sent in the new mailing,” the vendor concluded.
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The primary ballot mix-up has renewed Republican calls for a federal review of the state’s voter rolls.
“This kind of election mismanagement is why the RNC is already suing Maryland for failing to clean their voter rolls,” RNC Chair Joe Gruters told Fox News on Monday.
“Marylanders deserve answers after this unacceptable failure. The RNC and Maryland GOP are demanding transparency on how it happened, who will receive replacement ballots, and what safeguards will be used to prevent duplicate voting.”
The RNC’s election integrity unit vowed to respond quickly to deploy local legal experts to secure the midterm vote from primaries through November’s general elections.
“In response, the RNC and Maryland GOP are expanding our Protect the Vote operations with voter hotlines, legal oversight, and voter education statewide,” Gruters told Fox News Digital.
Maryland’s primary election is scheduled for June 23. Voters who want a mail-in ballot sent by mail must request one by June 16, according to the State Board of Elections.
Fox News has reached out to Maryland Republican Party Chair Nicole Beus Harris but has not yet heard back.
