2.7 million Marylanders voted in the 2024 general election. What happens next?
BALTIMORE -- During a news conference Monday, Maryland election officials detailed the results of a successful 2024 general election, outlined next steps and addressed bomb threats directed at several election offices.
State Administrator of Elections Jared DeMarinis credited the work of more than 23,000 election judges and 1,000 teen election aides, calling them "the backbone of this entire operation."
More than 2.7 million Marylanders voted in the election, with around 42% voting on Election Day, 37% during early voting, and 21% by mail.
"The election is over, but election work is still ongoing," DeMarinis said.
Canvassing of mail-in ballots began October 15, and 75% of those ballots have been counted. Local boards will start canvassing provisional ballots on Wednesday, and after this is complete, the state will conduct a thorough audit of the election.
"This tabulation verifies the accuracy of the voting system and provides confidence in the election results," DeMarinis said.
DeMarinis also commented on coordinated bomb threats received Friday, Nov. 8 by 15 local election boards.
"We took the safety of our election workers very seriously," he said. "We made sure that the buildings were safe to re-enter as quickly as possible to continue on with our canvas."
He added that preliminary findings suggest the threats originated from overseas and confirmed that the FBI is leading the investigation.
"On election day, civility reigned supreme in Maryland," DeMarinis said.