ANNAPOLIS, Md. — About 270,000 mail-in ballots that Maryland sent to voters this fall had not come back as of Saturday evening, according to the State Board of Elections, leaving a large share of the state’s mail vote still outstanding as polls prepare to open Tuesday.
The board’s report of mail-in ballots sent and received, current as of 6 p.m. on Oct. 31, shows 656,599 ballots sent and 386,673 received, a return rate of 58.9%. That leaves roughly 269,926 ballots that voters had not yet returned. Of the ballots received, 174,028 had been accepted by local canvassing boards.
Those outstanding ballots are not lost votes. Under state rules, a mailed ballot counts if it is postmarked by Election Day and reaches the local board by 10 a.m. on Nov. 13, and voters can still deposit ballots in drop boxes or hand them in until 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to the board’s 2026 voting guide.
Baltimore City trails
Return rates vary widely by jurisdiction. Baltimore City had the lowest, at 44.8%: 24,892 of 55,502 ballots sent had come back. Its local board had accepted 5,674 of them, according to the report.
Kent County, on the Upper Eastern Shore, had the highest rate, at 73.1%, followed by Talbot County at 72.8%. Anne Arundel County was at 65%.
In the two largest suburban counties around Washington, returns were close to the statewide rate. Montgomery County had received 82,968 of 141,514 ballots, or 58.6%, and Prince George’s County had received 53,081 of 88,807, or 59.8%.
| Jurisdiction | Sent | Received | Return rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery | 141,514 | 82,968 | 58.6% |
| Baltimore County | 95,174 | 55,218 | 58.0% |
| Prince George’s | 88,807 | 53,081 | 59.8% |
| Anne Arundel | 69,339 | 45,038 | 65.0% |
| Baltimore City | 55,502 | 24,892 | 44.8% |
| Howard | 41,563 | 24,278 | 58.4% |
| Kent | 1,993 | 1,457 | 73.1% |
| Statewide | 656,599 | 386,673 | 58.9% |
Six counties, Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Garrett, Kent and Somerset, showed no accepted ballots in the report. That reflects canvass totals not yet reported to the state, not ballots rejected. Elsewhere, Charles County’s return rate was 56.8% and Frederick County’s was 57.7%.
By party
Democrats, who were sent most of the ballots, also returned them at the highest rate. According to the report, 268,765 of 436,082 Democratic ballots had come back, or 61.6%. Republicans had returned 58,585 of 101,451, or 57.7%. Voters who are unaffiliated or belong to other parties had returned 59,323 of 119,066, or 49.8%.
| Party | Sent | Received | Return rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 436,082 | 268,765 | 61.6% |
| Republican | 101,451 | 58,585 | 57.7% |
| Other and unaffiliated | 119,066 | 59,323 | 49.8% |
How the count works
Local boards began canvassing mail-in ballots Oct. 13, according to the board’s canvassing page. Results from ballots counted before Election Day are kept confidential until all polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Local boards resume counting mail-in ballots on Nov. 13, after the deadline for mailed ballots to arrive.
Voters whose ballot envelope is missing a signature on the oath can fix it, and the deadline for that is also 10 a.m. on Nov. 13, according to the board.
The mail vote comes on top of in-person early voting, which drew 604,396 Marylanders, as the Inquisitor reported. The University of Maryland’s Skipjack project keeps a county-by-county turnout tracker.
If you still have a ballot
Voters who have not returned a mail-in ballot can:
- put it in a drop box in their county by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3;
- hand-deliver it to their local board of elections by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3;
- mail it so it is postmarked by Nov. 3 and arrives by 10 a.m. on Nov. 13.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, and anyone in line at 8 p.m. may vote, according to the State Board of Elections.
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