Frederick County decertifying election results after discrepancy found
BALTIMORE -- The Frederick County Board of Elections will decertify the county's primary election results from last month's primary election after discovering an issue with the certified results, local and state elections officials said Monday.
Elections officials said the issue arose as they prepared for a recount in the Democratic primary for County Council District 3. They found a discrepancy between the number of provisional and mail-in ballots accepted and the total number of votes tallied in the certified results.
Based on findings gleaned from an ongoing review, the board chalked up the issue to human errors that occurred during the mail-in and provisional canvassing process.
As a result, the board plans to decertify the existing results and has asked third parties including the State Board of Elections to review its ballot account procedures and assist with a rescan of all mail-in and provisional ballots.
In a statement, the county board of elections expressed its continued "commitment to accuracy, fairness and impartiality in the election process," adding that the panel will review steps taken to identify areas for improvement.
The rescan is set to begin on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. and take up to two days. Once that step is complete, the election results will be recertified.
The public is invited to attend the rescanning process, which will take place at the county board of elections office at 340A Montevue Ln. in Frederick.
