Mistakes happen in election administration. There are lots of moving parts. There are lots of humans with a role in them, who, while working diligently, are still fallible.
That’s why no responsible election administrator will ever claim there’s a “perfect election.”
Knowing that mistakes are part of any human-run process, election administration systems are built to quickly identify and correct them when they do occur. That’s why we have tabulation certifications. That’s why we have post-election audits. That’s why we have backup equipment at all voting locations. That’s why all the work is documented. That’s why so much of the work is done in teams.
Most of the mistakes are tiny and also resolved under partisan observation — meaning that Republicans and Democrats with a political role are aware they happen and when they’re addressed. That’s often a good thing for accountability. And also why the general public often never hears about them.
But occasionally, there are more noticeable mistakes.
And that brings us to a recent kerfuffle in Maryland.
Earlier this month, the Maryland State Board of Elections announced that some Maryland voters received mail-in ballots for the wrong party in the state’s upcoming primary election. The Board said it was an error by the state’s ballot vendor, which could’ve affected only voters who were mailed a ballot prior to May 14 (Maryland’s primary date is June 23). To be safe, the Board sent new ballots to all 500,000-plus voters in the state who had requested a mail ballot, together with a written explanation. “This action of resending ballots maintains the integrity and security of mail-in voting,” the Board stated.
Not a great situation. Criticism and corrective measures are warranted. But to repeat: “Mistakes happen in election administration.” Perfection is not the baseline. Yet perhaps unsurprisingly, some people still reacted in a less-than-measured tone, and with an inaccurate description of the situation. President Trump wrote, “Maryland just had 500,000 Fake Mail-In Ballots revealed. We cannot, as a Country, put up with this any longer!!!” The House Administration Committee’s X feed called it a “scandal.” As is customary, highly followed social media accounts fanned the flames.
Fortunately, mail ballot technology can fix this error transparently and straightforwardly. Each mail ballot return envelope has a unique barcode linking to the voter. This barcode allows voters to track ballots, and it allows election administrators to cancel previously mailed ballots.
For example, if I’m a mail voter, and somebody steals my mail ballot, I’ll call the election office and ask them to deactivate that mail ballot. Then the election office can send me a new, “live” mail ballot. It works the same if I lose or spill coffee all over my mail ballot and need a replacement.
This technology also prevents double-voting. When I return my mail ballot, the election office scans the barcode, and this loads a vote to my voter registration profile. Then, if I show up to vote in person, the voter registration system will tell the election workers that I’ve already voted.
The situation in Maryland is less than ideal, and there will undoubtedly be some confused voters. There’s no “excuse” for an error that requires such an (appropriately) across-the-board response. But at least it provides a reminder that our election systems in the United States are designed to overcome mistakes.