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Prince George's elections leaders say specimen‑ballot mailings were delayed after vendor problems
Summary
County elections officials told the Prince George's delegation that specimen ballots were mailed in three waves (June 10, June 12 and a bulk mailing June 18), blamed vendor miscommunication for delays and said they will change vendors and tighten contract terms before the November general election.
Delegate Nicole Williams convened the special session and said the delegation wanted answers after reports of late specimen ballots in the recent primary. Wendy Honesty Bey, who the delegation introduced as the head of the Prince George's County Board of Elections, said the county used Indiana Printing and Publishing Company and that specimen ballots went out in distributions on June 10, June 12 and the bulk on June 18. "We used the vendor, Indiana Printing and Publishing Company. They sent the specimen ballots out...the bulk of the specimen ballots went out on June 18," Bey said.
Bey acknowledged the county did not deliver specimen ballots to every registered voter because of a post‑pandemic change in practice and vendor timing. She told delegates the board will meet with managers and the vendor to establish a clearer timeline and said the county has returned to its prior vendor, DRS, for the general election. "There was miscommunication between us and the vendor...Things we assumed were informative emails they wanted us to respond to before they were able to ship or distribute the specimen ballots," she said. Delegates asked for contract guarantees, potential refunds and stronger quality controls; Bey said the prior contract lacked penalty provisions but that future contracts will include stipulations to protect the county.
