Maryland’s local election boards went back to counting mail-in ballots Thursday and will begin counting provisional ballots Nov. 12, the State Board of Elections said in a statement Thursday that also explains how write-in votes are counted.

On the state’s results page, write-in votes show up as a single number for each race until local boards review those ballots by hand. In the governor’s race, the page showed 4,841 votes for “Other Write-Ins” as of 5:56 p.m. Thursday. The board says local boards will report the votes for each certified write-in candidate before they certify results. The deadline to file as a write-in candidate was Oct. 15.

Results remain unofficial until local and state canvassers certify them. MarylandFeed’s statewide results are at marylandfeed.com/results. The board’s statement follows, as released.

The State Board of Elections Shares Important Voter Education for Understanding Election Results and Write-In Votes

ANNAPOLIS (November 5, 2026), The State Board of Elections (SBE) provides this important voter education statement to the public looking to understand election results. SBE’s website conveniently outlines the unofficial results as they are counted by the local boards of elections. These results are updated every 10 minutes. The election results remain unofficial until the election is certified by the local Boards of Elections/local Board of Canvassers and the Board of State Canvassers.

Individuals exploring the results webpage on the State Board of Elections’ website will see several different types of votes that are canvassed at different times.

Early Voting and Election Night Canvass

Early voting and election night results are reported after polling places are closed. These results are tabulated from votes cast in person at an early voting center or polling place. The results reflect the voters’ choice for that office. SBE reports the number of votes cast to all candidates whose names appear on the ballot; write-in candidates' votes are tabulated differently.

In a general election, a voter can cast a write-in vote for a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot. To vote for a write-in candidate, a voter would fill in the oval to the left of the “write-in” line for their chosen contest and write the candidate’s first and last name on the line next to the filled-in oval. This can also be done using a ballot marking device.

Initially, votes for write-in candidates are reported differently than votes for a candidate who formally appears on the ballot. Each local board of elections will report all write-in votes as one total regardless of the number of write-in candidates or who the write-in vote was cast for because the tabulator scanner will not identify the writing of candidate’s name; only the filled in oval for write-in. During the 10-day canvassing period after the election, each local board of elections will manually review all write-in ballots and tally the votes cast. Before a local board of elections certifies election results, the number of write-in votes cast for each certified official write-in candidate will be reported.

A certified write-in candidate filed a Certificate of Candidacy with either the State Board of Elections or the local board of elections for the office sought. The deadline for filing a write-in certificate of candidacy was October 15, 2026

Mail-In Voting and Provisional Canvass

The members of the local boards of elections meet as the "local board of canvassers" to review and count mail-in ballots and provisional ballots. These meetings are called "canvasses." Members of both political parties must attend the canvasses. Board counsel must be present for any board decision. More information on the canvassing process can be found on the State Board of Elections website.

Beginning October 13, 2026, a portion of Mail-in ballots were canvassed. Those results were released after the polls closed on Election Day. Mail-in ballot canvassing paused for Election Day, and resumed today, November 5, 2026. Each local board of elections provides public notice of their canvass dates on their website. Provisional ballots will be canvassed beginning November 12, 2026. These results are updated as the information is provided from the local board of elections.

Maryland’s State and local boards of elections are the public’s trusted sources of information for the election. Follow the Maryland State Board of Elections on Facebook at @MarylandStateBoardofElections or on X and Instagram at @md_sbe. We will always post accurate election-related information on social media. Important election information can also be found by downloading the Go Vote MD app in the Google Play or Apple Store.

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Media Contacts: Bruce Miller, [email protected] 410-916-6951
Lexy Rhoden, [email protected] 443-924-1644