# Election Law (GEL)

## Title 11. Canvassing

### Subtitle 3. Vote Canvassing by Local Board

#### Section 11-301

(a) A board of canvassers shall:

  (1) convene at the designated counting center for that county on or before the day of the election, but not later than 5 p.m. on that day, and be sworn in; and

  (2) meet only in public session.

(a-1)

  (1) Subject to paragraph (3) of this subsection, a board of canvassers and the staff of a local board may be observed as they complete each part of the canvass by authorized observers designated under paragraph (2) of this subsection and any other individuals who wish to be present.

  (2) The following persons have the right to designate a registered voter as an observer at each counting center:

    (i) a candidate for any county where the candidate is included on the ballot;

    (ii) a political party;

    (iii) a political committee; and

    (iv) a person required to file reports under Sec. 13-306 or Sec. 13-307 of this article.

  (3) The State Board may adopt regulations prohibiting public observation of a part of the canvass only if prohibiting public observation is necessary to ensure:

    (i) the integrity or accuracy of the canvass; or

    (ii) that the canvass process is not impeded.

  (4) The State Board shall ensure that the requirements of this subsection are implemented uniformly and consistently by each local board.

(b) Each board of canvassers shall elect by majority vote a chairman and secretary from among its members.

(c) Each member of the board of canvassers shall take an oath, administered and recorded by the clerk of the circuit court, to canvass and declare the votes cast truthfully and to perform other duties required by law.

(d)

  (1) At the first meeting of the board of canvassers for the purpose of canvassing, a majority of the whole board of canvassers shall be a quorum.

  (2) If a quorum is not present, the members present shall adjourn until the next day.

(e) Except as otherwise provided in this article, all decisions shall be reached by a majority vote of the members present.

(f) In Montgomery County and Prince George's County, if a member is not present at the scheduled time for vote canvassing, a substitute member of the board of canvassers may be sworn in.

(g) At least one member of the board of canvassers present shall be a registered voter of the principal minority party.

(h) Once the board has satisfied the requirements of subsections (a) through (g) of this section, it may proceed with the canvass in accordance with the regulations of the State Board.

#### Section 11-302

(a)

  (1) Each local board shall meet at its designated counting center to canvass the absentee ballots cast in that election in accordance with the regulations and guidelines established by the State Board.

  (2) Promptly after receipt of an absentee ballot, a local board shall review the ballot envelope or ballot/return envelope for the omission of the voter's signature on the oath.

  (3) A local board shall record the receipt of an absentee ballot in the statewide voter registration system and make the information available through the free access system established under COMAR 33.11.06.03 as soon as practicable, but not later than:

    (i) 2 business days after receipt of an absentee ballot provided by mail; or

    (ii) 4 business days after receipt of an absentee ballot provided through the Internet or by facsimile transmission.

(b)

  (1)

    (i) Except as provided in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph and subject to paragraph (4) of this subsection, a local board shall begin processing absentee ballots on the day that is 8 business days before the first day of early voting.

    (ii) The State Administrator may grant a waiver to a local board from the requirement under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph if the local board seeks a determination by the State Administrator that early canvassing is not:

      (1) necessary due to the low number of absentee ballots received by the local board; or

      (2) practicable due to limited resources or other constraints on the local board.

  (2) A local board may not delay the commencement of the canvass to await the receipt of late-arriving, timely absentee ballots.

  (3) A local board may conduct vote tallying when absentee ballots are processed under paragraph (1)(i) of this subsection.

  (4)

    (i) A local board or an employee of a local board may not conduct absentee ballot vote tabulation before the polls open on election day.

    (ii) A local board may not release absentee ballot vote totals before the polls close on election day.

(c)

  (1) An absentee ballot shall be deemed timely received if it is received in accordance with the regulations and guidelines established by the State Board.

  (2) An absentee ballot that is received after the deadline specified by the regulations and guidelines may not be counted.

(d)

  (1) The State Board shall adopt regulations that reflect the policy that the clarity of the intent of the voter is the overriding consideration in determining the validity of an absentee ballot or the vote cast in a particular contest.

  (2) Subject to Sec. 11-303.2 of this subtitle, a local board may not reject an absentee ballot except by unanimous vote and in accordance with regulations of the State Board.

  (3) The local board shall reject an absentee ballot if:

    (i) the voter failed to sign the oath on the ballot envelope or ballot/return envelope and failed to correct the omission before 10 a.m. on the day that is 10 days after election day;

    (ii) the local board received more than one ballot from the same individual for the same election in the same ballot envelope; or

    (iii) the local board determines that an absentee ballot is intentionally marked with an identifying mark that is clearly evident and placed on the ballot for the purpose of identifying the ballot.

  (4)

    (i) The State Board shall adopt regulations requiring a local board:

      (1) as soon as practicable but not later than 3 business days after the date on which it was determined that a voter failed to sign the oath on the ballot envelope or ballot/return envelope, to notify the voter of the failure; and

      (2) to provide the voter an opportunity to correct the omission and have the ballot counted.

    (ii) The regulations under this paragraph shall allow a voter:

      (1) to supply a signature to the local board through a digital picture message sent by mobile telephone or e-mail if the voter failed to sign the oath on the ballot envelope or ballot/return envelope; and

      (2) to choose among multiple methods of communicating with the local board to correct the failure to sign the oath on the ballot envelope or ballot/return envelope, including:

      (A) text message;

      (B) e-mail;

      (C) an accessible online portal;

      (D) a mailed form; and

      (E) an in-person visit to the local board office.

  (5) If the intent of the voter is not clearly demonstrated, the local board shall reject only the vote for that office or question.

  (6) If an absentee voter casts a vote for an individual who has ceased to be a candidate, the vote for that candidate may not be counted, but that vote does not invalidate the remainder of the ballot.

(e) Beginning after the polls close on election day, at the end of each day of canvassing, a local board shall prepare and release a report of the unofficial returns of the absentee ballot vote tabulation.

#### Section 11-303

(a) Following an election, each local board shall meet at its designated counting center to canvass the provisional ballots cast in that election in accordance with the regulations and guidelines established by the State Board.

(b) A local board may not open an envelope of a provisional ballot until the local board has approved the provisional ballot application.

(c) The State Board shall adopt regulations to implement this section.

(d)

  (1) Subject to Sec. 11-303.2 of this subtitle, a local board may not reject a provisional ballot except by unanimous vote and in accordance with regulations of the State Board.

  (2) The local board shall reject a provisional ballot if:

    (i) pursuant to paragraph (4) of this subsection, the local board determines that the individual who cast the provisional ballot is not qualified to vote that provisional ballot;

    (ii) the individual failed to sign the oath on the provisional ballot application; or

    (iii) the local board determines that a provisional ballot is intentionally marked with an identifying mark that is clearly evident and placed on the ballot for the purpose of identifying the ballot.

  (3) If the intent of the voter with respect to a particular contest is not clearly demonstrated, the local board shall reject only the vote for that contest.

  (4) For the purposes of this section, an individual is qualified to vote the provisional ballot cast if the local board determines that:

    (i) the individual is registered in the State;

    (ii) if the provisional ballot was cast because the voter failed to provide required identification, the individual who cast the provisional ballot has met the identification requirements established by the State Board;

    (iii) if the provisional ballot was cast during a period covered by a court order or other order extending the time for closing the polls, the order has not been invalidated by a subsequent court order; and

    (iv) if the provisional ballot was cast because the voter claimed a different political party affiliation from the political party affiliation on record for the voter, the voter made a selection in a nonpartisan board of education contest on the ballot.

(e) A local board shall count:

  (1) the entire provisional ballot if the address on the provisional ballot application is within the precinct where the provisional ballot was cast;

  (2) only the votes cast by the voter for each candidate or question applicable to the precinct in which the voter resides, as determined by the address on the provisional ballot application of the voter; or

  (3) only the votes cast by the voter in a nonpartisan board of education contest if the voter cast a provisional ballot for a different political party from the political party affiliation on record for the voter.

(f)

  (1) The State Board shall ensure the establishment of a system that any individual who casts a provisional ballot may access without cost to discover whether the ballot was counted and, if not counted, the reason it was not.

  (2) The system established under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall ensure the confidentiality of the individual who accesses the system and the secrecy of each ballot.

#### Section 11-303.1

A ballot properly cast by a voter who dies before the ballot is canvassed shall be counted in full unless a law or regulation requires that the ballot be fully or partially rejected for a reason unrelated to the death of the voter. 

#### Section 11-303.2

Subject to Sec. 11-302(d)(3)(ii) of this subtitle, if a local board receives more than one ballot from the same individual, the local board shall:

(1) count the first ballot from the individual that the local board determines is legally sufficient; and

(2) reject any other ballot.

#### Section 11-304

(a) A candidate or absentee voter aggrieved by the decision of a local board to reject, or not to reject, an absentee ballot shall have the right of appeal to the circuit court for the county.

(b) The appeal must be filed within 5 days from the date of the completion of the official canvass by the board of all the votes cast at the election.

(c) The appeal shall be heard de novo, without a jury, as soon as possible.

(d)

  (1) The decision of the circuit court may be appealed to the Appellate Court of Maryland, provided the appeal is taken within 48 hours from the entry of the decision of the circuit court.

  (2) The appeal shall be heard and decided on the original papers, including a written transcript of the testimony taken in the case.

  (3) The original papers and the transcript shall be transmitted to the Appellate Court of Maryland within 5 days from the taking of the appeal, and the appeal shall be heard as soon as possible.

#### Section 11-305

Any person who asserts that an election official has violated the provisions of this article relating to provisional ballots may file an administrative complaint under procedures established by the State Board.

#### Section 11-306

The person designated to maintain custody of the documents and records required under this title shall maintain and secure those items in accordance with the regulations adopted by the State Board.

#### Section 11-307

(a) If a board of canvassers determines following an election that there appears to be an error in the documents or records produced during the election, then it immediately shall, in consultation with the State Administrator, investigate the matter to ascertain whether the records or documents are correct.

(b) The board of canvassers may correct a document or record only in accordance with the regulations of the State Board.

#### Section 11-308

(a) Within 10 days after any election, and before certifying the results of the election, each board of canvassers shall verify the vote count in accordance with the regulations prescribed by the State Board for the voting system used in that election.

(b) Upon completion of the verification process, the members of the board of canvassers shall:

  (1) certify in writing that the election results are accurate and that the vote has been verified; and

  (2) provide copies of the election results to the persons specified under Sec. 11-401 of this title.

(c)

  (1) If a member of a board of canvassers dissents from a determination of an election result or reasonably believes that the conduct of a local board member or local board proceeding was not in compliance with applicable law or regulation or was otherwise illegal or irregular, the member shall prepare and file with the local board a distinct written statement of the reasons for the dissent or concern.

  (2) The State Administrator shall review the dissent and submit it to the Board of State Canvassers for a final determination.

  (3) The State Board shall maintain a file of the final determination.

#### Section 11-309

(a)

  (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.

  (2) "Automated software audit" means an audit of electronic images of ballots cast in an election using software that is independent of the voting system.

  (3) "Electronic count" means the vote totals produced by the voting system.

  (4) "Local contest" means a contest that:

    (i) is not a statewide contest; and

    (ii) appears on the ballot in all or part of a county, including a contest to represent a district that includes more than one county.

  (5) "Manual count" means inspection of voter-verifiable paper records by hand and eye to obtain vote totals in a contest.

  (6) "Risk limit" means the small, predetermined maximum chance that a risk-limiting audit will not require a full manual count of voter-verifiable paper records in an audited contest if a full manual count of the voter-verifiable paper records would find a different outcome than the outcome determined by the electronic count.

  (7) "Risk-limiting audit" means a postelection audit procedure that employs statistical methods to ensure a large, predetermined minimum chance of requiring a full manual count of voter-verifiable paper records in an audited contest if a full manual count of the voter-verifiable paper records would find a different outcome than the outcome determined by the electronic count.

  (8) "Voter-verifiable paper record" has the meaning stated in Sec. 9-102 of this article.

(b)

  (1) Following each statewide election, the State Board, in collaboration with each local board, shall audit the accuracy of the voting system's tabulation of votes in each county by conducting a risk-limiting audit of:

    (i) at least one statewide contest; and

    (ii) any other contests selected for audit by the State Board.

  (2) Following a special general election, the State Board, in collaboration with the local boards, may conduct a risk-limiting audit.

  (3)

    (i) Subject to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, the State Board shall select the specific contests to be audited under paragraph (1) of this subsection.

    (ii) A contest for an office for which the term begins in the month of December may not be selected for audit unless the election director for the county agrees to audit the contest.

  (4) A risk-limiting audit shall:

    (i) manually examine randomly chosen individual voter-verifiable paper records or batches of voter-verifiable paper records until the risk limit is met or the correct election outcome is established;

    (ii) be completed before the Board of State Canvassers transmits a certified statement of the election results to the State Board under Sec. 11-503(a) of this title; and

    (iii) be observable by the public to the maximum extent practicable.

  (5)

    (i) If a risk-limiting audit finds that the election outcome determined by the electronic count is inaccurate, the State Administrator, in consultation with the State Board, shall direct the relevant board of canvassers to immediately investigate the matter to determine an accurate election result.

    (ii) The board of canvassers shall conclude the investigation within 3 days.

    (iii) The board of canvassers shall correct the election result in accordance with regulations adopted by the State Board.

  (6) The State Administrator shall report the results of the risk-limiting audit to the Board of State Canvassers and the State Board.

(c) In addition to the risk-limiting audit required under subsection (b) of this section, the State Board, in collaboration with the local boards, may conduct an automated software audit after a statewide election.

(d) A local board may conduct a risk-limiting audit of a local contest at the discretion of the local board.

(e)

  (1) The State Board shall adopt regulations to carry out this section.

  (2) The regulations adopted under paragraph (1) of this subsection to carry out risk-limiting audits in accordance with subsection (b) of this section shall include:

    (i) criteria for determining the contests to be audited;

    (ii) the risk limit; and

    (iii) the audit method.

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Md. Code Ann., Election Law (as displayed at mgaleg.maryland.gov, October 16, 2026)