Common Cause Maryland Reminds Voters “Election Day is not Results Day”

ANNAPOLIS — Maryland voters have until 8 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 8, to cast a ballot in person or by mail in the 2022 midterm election. As voters head to the polls, Common Cause Maryland is reminding voters that it may take days for election officials to finalize results.

“Every single voice must be heard in this election and that means counting every vote,” said Joanne Antoine, executive director of Common Cause Maryland. “It takes time to count every vote accurately and that’s why it’s important to remember that Election Day is not results day. Even if we don’t know the election winners when we go to bed, what matters most is making sure every voter’s ballot is counted accurately.”

The midterm election is the first time Maryland’s elections workers will be able to pre-process vote-by-mail ballots before Election Day. The decision will help deliver more timely finalized election results than voters experienced in the 2022 June primary.

In July, voters experienced a major delay in finalized primary election results due to the uptick in use of vote-by-mail. In July, election workers were not allowed to begin counting ballots until two days after the election. Common Cause and other voting rights organizations advocated and worked with GA leadership to prioritize changes to avoid these problems this November.

Voters who have any questions about the voting process or encounter any problems can contact Common Cause’s nonpartisan Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE. Voters can call or text the hotline to connect with experts who can help voters navigate any issues and ensure their voice is counted. The hotline is available in multiple languages, other than English: 

• Spanish :(888-VE-Y-VOTA/888-839-8682)  
• Arabic: (844-YALLA-US/844-925-5287) and  
• Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Korean and other Asian languages: (888-API-VOTE/888-274-8683). 

Common Cause’s nonpartisan poll monitoring program and hotline are designed to help inform voters of their rights, help elections officials handle problems in real time, and notify legal teams when the courts’ interference is needed.

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