(9/27) With regards to the upcoming 2020 Presidential Election, many voters around the country have recently expressed concerns about the mail-in voting process and its legitimacy. In this article, members of the Board of Elections of both Frederick County and Adams County provide answers to commonly
asked questions to provide voters with voting information and to reassure voters of the upcoming election’s legitimacy.
Voting Options This Election
All Frederick County voters have three options to vote in the upcoming election: by mail-in ballot, at an early voting site, or at an election day site. More information regarding mail-in ballots will be provided below. Voters are able to cast their ballots at four in-person early voting sites in Frederick County from October 26 through November 3 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. In addition to
the four early voting sites, an additional ten in-person voting sites will be open form 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 3.
This means that fourteen total in-person voting sites will be open in Frederick County on Election Day. Any Frederick County voter can vote at any early voting center or any Election Day center, regardless of where he/she lives. Despite rumors circulating to the contrary, the closest voting site for Emmitsburg and Thurmont residents is not located in Walkersville, but rather is Catoctin High
School in Thurmont. For a complete list of available early voting and Election Day sites, visit https://frederickcountymd.gov/1198/Board-of-Elections.
Adams County voters will have similar voting options. The only difference is that Adams County does not offer in-person early voting. However, Sean Mott, Assistant Solicitor for Adams County, explained that Adams County will offer fifty polling locations for this election. Mott added that Adams County did not condense the number of election sites as a result of the pandemic; this is the same
number of locations that is available for normal election years.
Mail-In Voting Information
All registered voters in the state of Maryland should have received by now a mail-in ballot application. Some voters have expressed confusion and believed the application to be the actual ballot, but this is not the case. The application is merely that and must be filled out and sent back to the Board of Elections by October 20 for a voter to receive a ballot by mail. Once the voter receives a
mail-in ballot, he/she simply needs to fill it out, sign it, and mail it back into the Board of Elections.
Alternatively, if the voter does not feel safe mailing his/her ballot, it can be delivered in-person to one of several ballot drop box locations in Frederick County. In fact, a ballot can be delivered to any drop box in the state of Maryland and it will make its way back to the Frederick County Board of Elections, but the process will go smoother for all parties if the ballot is dropped in a
drop box in Frederick County. Voters should visit www.frederickcountymd.gov/1198/Board-of-Elections for a full list of ballot drop box locations.
If the ballot is mailed, voters should be aware that the ballot must be postmarked by Election Day and received by the Frederick County Board of Elections by November 13. As an additional note, voters should be aware that if a ballot is placed in their mailbox on Election Day, it does not necessarily guarantee that the ballot will be postmarked on Election Day.
Adams County has a very similar mail-in process when compared to Frederick County, although some of the dates are different. Mail-in ballot applications must be received by the Adams County Board of Elections by October 27. Completed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and must be received by the Board of Elections by November 6 to be counted, per a recent ruling from the Pennsylvania
State Supreme Court. Adams County only offers a singular ballot drop box, which is located in the Adams County Courthouse in Gettysburg. An additional service offered to Pennsylvanians is the ability to track mailed ballots to ensure they are received and counted. To do so, viswww.pavoterservices.pa.gov
Ballot Counting Information
Per the state of Maryland, canvassing of ballots can begin on October 1. However, counting in Frederick County will begin a little later in October, according to Stuart Harvey, Election Director for Frederick County. This is due to an expected ballot volume that can be managed in a shorter time frame. All results of ballots counted prior to Election Day will be withheld until results are
released on Election Night. Final canvassing of valid ballots received after Election Day will be completed on November 13.
In Adams County, canvassing of ballots is not allowed to begin until 7 a.m. on Election Day. However, Adams County does not anticipate beginning to canvass ballots until 9 a.m. on Election Day. Final canvassing of valid ballots received after Election Day will be completed on November 6.
Ballots Returned Without Signature
A major national news story a few weeks ago raised concerns that many ballots returned without a signature could potentially be rejected. While Harvey confirmed that a ballot returned with a signature could be rejected, the Frederick County Board of Elections will do everything possible to obtain a valid signature for the ballot. If a phone number or email is known for the voter, Harvey said
Board of Elections employees will reach out with the voter to get a signature this way. Otherwise, the voter will be notified by mail to seek the signature. However, despite these efforts, if a valid signature cannot be obtained in time, the ballot will have to be rejected.
Adams County officials said that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently ruled that counties are not legally required to notice voters of ballot defects. With that said, Adams County intends to make every effort possible to contact voters if any defects are noticed. If the defect is noticed after Election Day, the county will have no choice but to reject the ballot. Mott said that "the county
stresses the importance of ensuring that the ballot is signed and placed in the "secrecy" envelope, as the failure to do either will result in a voided ballot."
Voters Attempting To Vote Twice
Many have expressed concern that voters may attempt to and may be able to vote twice in the election. Harvey stressed that this is not the case and no voter will be allowed to vote twice. The state of Maryland uses electronic poll books to track voters. On Election Day, if a person should attempt to vote in-person after he/she has already requested a mail-in ballot, the system will notify an
election judge when the person attempts to check-in. However, the person will still be allowed to vote via a provisional ballot.
A provisional ballot is one that will be scrutinized in greater detail before it is counted; in this case, one of the checks will be to ensure that the person did not already vote. If a person requested a mail-in ballot and lost it, threw it away, or otherwise never voted it, then the provisional ballot will be accepted. Otherwise, the ballot will be rejected and a review board will determine
whether the individual should be referred to the State Prosecutor for voter fraud. A similar process would occur if a voter voted legitimately in-person at one site, and then attempted to vote at a different site later. The voter would cast a provisional ballot at the second voting site and during the auditing process, the voter irregularity would be caught.
Adams County officials stressed that the exact same poll book and provisional ballot process mentioned above holds in their county as well. However, one tiny difference is that if a voter brings their uncast mail-in ballot to the polls on Election Day, they may be allowed to vote a regular ballot instead of a provisional ballot after signing a sworn affidavit.
Other Fraud
Two other concerns some people hold about the voting process is individuals requesting and voting multiple ballots and individuals voting deceased persons’ ballots. Both of these would be nearly impossible to pull off in either Frederick or Adams County. The mail-in ballot application sent to voters has their name already filled out on the form, along with a unique serial code and number on
the ballot. Even with the most advanced technology, it would be impossible to replicate the application to a level where it would be accepted by the Board of Elections. As for the second issue, both Frederick County’s and Adams County’s Board of Elections receive lists regularly from their respective state departments of health with a list of individuals who have recently passed, at which point
their name is removed from the voter registration database. As a result, it would be difficult to cast a ballot in the name of someone who is deceased.
Final Words
Harvey assured Frederick County voters that he has the utmost trust in the system, regardless of whether a voter votes by mail or in-person. He stressed that voters who feel unsafe about mailing their ballot should take advantage of the drop box locations to hand-deliver their ballot. "Once the ballots are securely received at the Frederick County Board of Elections," Harvey said, "they are
locked in the building and will only be accessible to staff. I have been working with our staff here for years and have the utmost trust in them and the process."
