WASHINGTON — Amid concerns that a computer glitch may cause problems for thousands of voters during Maryland’s primary Tuesday, Gov. Larry Hogan is trying to reassure everyone in the state that all votes will be counted.
“Every single person is going to be able to vote,” Hogan told WJZ-TV in Baltimore Sunday. “They’re doing everything they can to address it. It shouldn’t have too much of an impact, but it’s an inconvenience.”
Just days before the election, state officials said over the weekend that a glitch stopped the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration from properly recording information for about 18,700 voters over the past year.
The glitch impacted people who changed their address or party affiliation using the MVA website or self-service kiosks between April 22, 2017, and June 5, 2018.
Specifically, the glitch affected those who made the changes without buying a driver’s license or other item from the MVA.
“There was a glitch between the MVA computer system and the state Board of Elections computer system,” Hogan told WJZ-TV.
Democrats, including State Sen. Joan Carter Conway, were quick to pounce on the issue and blame the Hogan administration.
In a statement, Conway said the issue would cause voter confusion, “disenfranchise thousands of Marylanders” and “may impact the outcome of close races up and down the ballot.”
Conway, the chairwoman of the Education, Health & Environmental Affairs Committee, called for a hearing to investigate how it happened and to “hold the governor’s team accountable for this mess.”
State election officials said they would try to send notification emails to everyone affected by the glitch.
Those affected will still be able to vote, but they will need to cast provisional ballots instead of the standard ones.
Marylanders who want to check on whether their voter information is up to date should visit the state Board of Elections website and click on “look up voter information.”
