During its Monday afternoon board meeting, the State Board of Elecitons voted unanimously to pursue legal action to allow local boards of election to count mail-in ballots earlier.
Right now, mail-in ballots are not allowed to be counted until the Thursday morning after election day.
Senator Cheryl Kagan proposed a bill that would allow this to happen, but it was vetoed by Governor Larry Hogan.
Hallelujah! @md_sbe just voted unanimously to bring a legal case that would allow the early canvass that my SB163 would have permitted. Assuming court approval, our local elections boards will be able to scan (but not release!) mail-in ballots prior to #ElectionDay.
— Cheryl C. Kagan (@CherylKagan) August 15, 2022
They will seek emergency relief from a Circuit Court to allow for the counting of ballots, but not the release of those results, before the closing of polls.
All four members voted in favor.
