Canvassing Of Mail-In Ballots Starts Thursday In Frederick County

The public is invited to watch.Frederick, Md (KM) The counting will continue on Thursday morning. . The Frederick County Elections Office will begin canvassing mail-in ballots at its offices at 8490 Progress Drive beginning at  10:00 AM. “We will be continuing our count of the mail-in ballots which were cast in the 2024 Presidential Primary Election,” says Anthony Gutierrez, the Election Deputy Director.He says the amount of ballots counted  on Thursday could range from 5,000 to 6,000.  With mail-in ballots needing  to be postmarked by Tuesday, May 14th in order to be counted, Gutierrez says more mail-in ballots will probably  be coming into the office over the next few days.He says the process will involve bipartisan teams opening up the envelopes, making sure they are marked correctly, and then they begin counting. Gutierrez says the counting is expected to continue into Friday, May 17th.The canvassing will  also  take place   on Friday, May 24th, and then wrap up with the necessary audits and certifications. “All of the results that we have reported so far are unofficial, and they do not become final until we’ve done those audits and those double checking, and we certify officially to the state board ten days after the election,”: he says.In many cases, the results from the counting of the mail-in ballots usually go along with the general elections, but Gutierrez says not always. “You never know when there’s a contest that’s very close,” he says. :”We’ve certainly had contests where we’re within four, and even one vote just a couple of years ago. Until the final results are in, for us, anyway, we continue on with the process.”Gutierrez says citizens can come and watch the process. The canvassing will take place on Thursday, May 16th at 10:00 AM at the Elections Office at 8490 Progress Drive on the third floor. He says residents can watch, but not interrupt the proceedings. “There are rules  promulgated by state regulations can’t interfere with the process. They can certainly ask questions. We will have individuals designated to answer the public’s questions,” Gutierrez says.By Kevin McManus