This article was republished with permission from 小萝莉影视’s news partners at . Read the story at Maryland Matters.
President Donald Trump (R) is attacking Maryland officials after a mix-up that caused a portion of voters to receive the wrong mail-in ballot for the state鈥檚 June 23 primary.
Because of the error, which the State Board of Elections聽聽and attributed to a vendor, elections officials are re-sending all 565,000 of the mail-in ballots issued so far, which are expected to arrive in mailboxes聽.
In a聽聽Monday afternoon, Trump hurled accusations at Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), writing that he 鈥渁llowed this to happen in order to make sure that Democrats win.鈥�
鈥淚n Maryland, they sent out 500,000 Illegal Mail In Ballots, and they got caught! So now, they鈥檙e going to send out 500,000 more Mail In Ballots, but nobody knows what鈥檚 happening with the first 500,000 they sent,鈥� Trump wrote in his post.
The president also pledged to ask the Justice Department to open an investigation into the matter. The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Maryland election officials, meanwhile, are rushing to dispute the president鈥檚 post.
None of the mail-in ballots issued were 鈥渋llegal,鈥� said State Administrator of Elections Jared DeMarinis in a聽. Rather, some voters may have received a ballot corresponding to the wrong political party, according to a Monday news release from the elections board.
鈥淣o fake OR illegal mail-in ballots were distributed. The wording in President Trump鈥檚 continued posts about Maryland鈥檚 elections creates an environment of misinformation on a voting right,鈥� DeMarinis wrote.
Maryland officials say they have voided the incorrect ballots issued by their vendor, Taylor Print & Visual Impressions, so that they cannot be used, and they have set in place adequate safeguards to prevent a person from voting twice using the two ballots.
鈥淓very return envelope/oath has a unique identifier to ensure that a voter can only vote one ballot,鈥� reads a board of elections webpage聽听颈蝉蝉耻别.
Affected voters are instructed to dispose of the original ballot and utilize the newly issued ballot to cast their votes.
Maryland has closed primaries, so voters may only cast their ballots in the party primary matching their registration. The June 23 primary will feature the governor鈥檚 race and all of the seats in the General Assembly, in addition to congressional elections and local races including county executives and county councils.
Maryland voters still have time to request to vote by mail. The ballot printing error only affected those who requested to vote by mail early, and received their ballot by May 14.
The deadline to request a mailed ballot is June 16. But voters who wish to receive their ballot as an emailed link and print it at home can request until June 19. All ballots must be postmarked by 8 p.m. on June 23, or brought to a ballot drop box or polling location by that time.
In a statement, Ammar Moussa, a spokesperson for Moore, called Trump鈥檚 social media post 鈥渇alse and irresponsible.鈥�
鈥淭he State Board of Elections identified a vendor error, disclosed it publicly, and is fixing it to ensure every eligible voter receives a valid ballot and every valid vote is counted,鈥� Moussa wrote. 鈥淢arylanders should look to the State Board of Elections for accurate information 鈥� not social media misinformation designed to undermine confidence in our elections.鈥�
Moore does not administer Maryland elections in his role as governor. The five-person, bipartisan State Board of Elections handles those duties, together with its selected election administrator, DeMarinis. The board includes three members of the majority party in the state and two members of the minority party.
In its latest聽, the state board announced that communications to affected voters would begin Monday. Voters will receive a postcard to their registered address, or an electronic message to their preferred method of contact.
The production of the new ballots began Tuesday, and the new ballots will be mailed on a rolling basis as soon as they are printed. Envelopes will feature the message 鈥淩EPLACEMENT BALLOT INSIDE.鈥� Mailing is to be completed by May 29. Voters are instructed to return only the replacement ballot in the replacement envelope.
