Frostburg City elections board agrees to accept a small number of ballots dropped at county box

The Frostburg City Board of Elections voted by voice on May 13 to accept a small number of ballots that had been dropped at a county ballot dropbox instead of the city dropbox.

Staff told the board that 347 mail-in ballots had been received so far and that two or three ballots had been handed to the board after being dropped at the Mountain Ridge county dropbox rather than mailed or dropped at the city location. Staff said the misdelivered ballots were being set aside separately pending a board decision on how to classify them.

The board discussed options, including treating the hand-delivered envelopes as ballot-box deliveries and keeping them segregated for tracking. One board member said, “I say yes reluctantly, but I say yes,” and another said, “I say yes as well.” The chair then said she would go with the majority and directed staff to handle the ballots accordingly and to develop fixes for future cycles.

Staff said the ballots would be kept separate from other batches while the board completes canvassing and verification steps, and that the city will contact the county about adding signage to clarify which boxes are intended for county elections and which are for Frostburg City ballots.

The board’s decision was taken by voice; the transcript records at least two explicit yes votes and the chair’s acceptance of the majority. The motion and outcome as recorded in the meeting: the board moved to accept the misdelivered ballots for counting, and the motion was approved by voice. The transcript does not include a complete roll-call tally of the vote.

The board also instructed staff to review procedures for future elections and to coordinate with the county to reduce the risk that Frostburg ballots are dropped in county boxes.

The board adjourned at about 5:05 p.m.