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WASHINGTON – Today, Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil (WI-01) sent a letter to Jared DeMarinis, Maryland’s State Administrator of Elections, after recent reports of serious errors with mail-in ballots in advance of Maryland’s June 23 primary election.
Representatives Laurel Lee (FL-15), Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Greg Murphy, M.D. (NC-03), Stephanie Bice (OK-05), Mike Carey (OH-15), and Mary Miller (IL-15) all signed on to the letter.
The Members wrote in part:
“The Committee on House Administration (Committee) has broad oversight of federal elections. Oversight of federal elections is critical to safeguard the integrity of America’s electoral system. Your office, the Maryland State Board of Elections (SBOE), recently reported a vendor error that resulted in many voters receiving the wrong party ballot. This issue merits careful attention and assurance that it will not recur.
“While the SBOE is taking precautions to void the initial batch of ballots, distributing over half a million additional replacement ballots risks creating immense logistical strain and potentially undermines public confidence in the nation’s elections. These systemic errors raise concerns over pre-distribution auditing and state oversight of critical third-party contractors.
“Based on this information, the Committee is concerned about the administration, tracking, and security of Maryland’s mail-in voting processes, and whether adequate safeguards are in place for the upcoming general election.”
The Committee has asked the State to respond by June 9.
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