Judge to decide if Maryland’s hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots can start being counted before Election Day

A court filing that would allow Maryland to begin counting mail-in ballots early for this fall’s gubernatorial election lies in the hands of a Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge following a hearing Tuesday. The legal action, filed by the Maryland State Board of Elections, hopes to avoid delays in results similar to those experienced during the July primary as officials counted a deluge of mail-in ballots that have become commonplace since the coronavirus pandemic. Current law, which predates the widespread use of mail-in ballots, only allows such ballots to be opened and tallied starting the Thursday after Election Day. That’s the latest start in the nation to the counting of mail-in ballots.