The campaign for Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox appealed a Montgomery Circuit Court judge’s ruling allowing mail-in ballots to be counted starting Oct. 1.
Under previous Maryland state law, ballots could only be counted starting two days after Election Day. The general election could take until December or early January to be certified if mail-in ballots are counted after Election Day, so the Maryland Board of Elections filed an emergency petition in Montgomery County Circuit Court to allow local elections boards to begin processing mail ballots this weekend, according to Maryland Matters.
A circuit court judge granted the petition Sept. 23.
[Republicans at UMD divided on gubernatorial vote]
Cox, who has made claims that mail-in ballots pose a risk to election integrity, appealed the judge’s decision to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals Tuesday.
Cox also filed a similar motion with the county circuit court itself to block mail-in ballots being counted before Election Day, where he asked that the state not implement the circuit court ruling until the special appeals judge decides on the appeal.
Under previous law where mail-in ballots could not be counted until after Election Day, multiple counties were unable to certify election results for weeks after July’s primary.
Citing concerns about voting fraud, Gov. Larry Hogan vetoed a Maryland General Assembly bill in May that would have allowed election officials to begin counting ballots for July’s primary election up to eight days before early voting started.
Marylanders can request mail-in ballots online until Nov. 1.
