Annapolis voters asked to drop off mail-in ballots due to postal service issues ahead of primary election
Voters in Annapolis, Maryland, are being asked to drop off their mail-in ballots or vote in person due to issues with the U.S. Postal Service, according to the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections.
The issues were reported ahead of the city's Primary Election on Tuesday, Sept. 16.
Election officials alerted the city on Tuesday, saying the mail service problems are impacting the return of mail-in ballot request forms and causing extreme delays in the delivery of mail-in ballots to the Board of Elections and to voters.
The board said it is working with postal officials to resolve the issues.
"We were expecting a lot of folks to take advantage of that and send the applications back," said David Garreis, the Anne Arundel County Elections Director.
Garreis said the Board of Elections did not get any applications back until September 8, and that it appears many were held with the U.S. Postal Service for about a month.
"That's a pretty big delay. It's caused us to have to scramble a little to get everything processed," Garreis said.
Garreis said that about 700 to 800 voters were impacted.
Drop boxes or in-person voting
Voters who requested a mail-in ballot but have not yet received it are being asked to vote in person on September 16, election officials said.
Residents can find their local polling location here.
On Primary Election day, voters will be asked to fill out a provisional ballot if their mail-in ballot delivery faces delays.
If the mail-in ballot is not received by September 23, the provisional ballot will be counted instead. If the mail-in ballot is received on time, the provisional ballot will not count, election officials said.
Voters who have already gotten their mail-in ballot are being asked to return it to a listed drop box instead of mailing it. The ballots can also be submitted at an assigned polling location.
Drop boxes are available at the following locations:
- Ward 1 – City Hall at 160 Duke of Gloucester Street
- Ward 2 – Michael E. Busch Annapolis Library at 1410 West Street
- Ward 3 – Mt. Olive Community Life Center at 2 Hicks Avenue
- Ward 4 – American Legion Post #141 at 1707 Forest Drive
- Ward 5 – Roger "Pip" Moyer Recreation Center at 273 Hilltop Lane
- Ward 6 – Eastport Community Center at 1014 President Street
- Ward 7 – Eastport-Annapolis Neck Library at 269 Hillsmere Drive
- Ward 8 – Eastport Volunteer Fire Hall at 914 Bay Ridge Avenue