Maryland Lt. Gov. Dismisses 500,000 Ballot Error as Routine While Trump Demands Federal Investigation

Clear Facts

• Maryland’s mail-in ballot vendor incorrectly distributed ballots to voters ahead of the state’s primary elections, prompting President Trump to call for a DOJ investigation
• Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller claimed ballot errors “happen almost in every election,” though no public evidence supports this characterization as routine
• The Maryland State Board of Elections announced it will send replacement ballots to all voters who received mail-in ballots before May 14, affecting approximately 500,000 ballots

Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller attempted to downplay a significant mail-in ballot distribution error affecting hundreds of thousands of voters, characterizing election administration mistakes as commonplace even as President Donald Trump demanded a Justice Department investigation into potential corruption.

The controversy erupted after Maryland’s State Board of Elections acknowledged that their mail-in ballot vendor, Taylor Print & Visual Impressions (TPVI), Inc., had distributed incorrect ballots to voters ahead of the state’s upcoming primary elections.

“This was done by the Corrupt Governor of the State, Wes Moore,” Trump wrote on Truth Social May 18.

“He allowed this to happen in order to make sure that Democrats win.”

Miller defended the state’s election apparatus, telling Fox News Digital that the Maryland State Board of Elections operates independently from the governor’s administration. She characterized the ballot-distribution error as part of a recurring pattern in election administration.

“The administration, they’re a separate body from us, the board of elections,” Miller said.

“And it happens, sometimes. Ballots get mailed the wrong way. It happens almost in every election.”

However, there is no publicly available evidence showing that incorrect mail ballot distribution is an “every election” occurrence in Maryland. While the state has experienced election administration issues in the past, including a voter-roll software glitch in 2018, Miller’s characterization lacks documented support.

The state elections board announced it will send new ballots to all voters who were mailed one before May 14, acknowledging that many voters receiving replacement ballots may not have been affected by the original mishap. The board claimed there is “no risk of duplicate voting as a result of this issue,” citing safeguards to prevent such occurrences.

Trump questioned how the state could guarantee no duplicate voting would occur given the scope of the problem.

“In Maryland, they sent out 500,000 Illegal Mail In Ballots, and they got caught!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“So now, they’re going to send out 500,000 more Mail In Ballots, but nobody knows what’s happening with the first 500,000 they sent.”

“In addition, many of these Ballots went to Democrats, so any Republican running in Maryland doesn’t have a chance!”

Miller rejected allegations that the error was intentional or resulted from corruption within the state government.

“I don’t think it was in malice, in any bad way that this happened,” she told Fox News Digital.

“I think it was just error by the vendor.”

State Administrator of Elections Jared DeMarinis also denied Trump’s claim that any “illegal” ballots were distributed, though the administration has not provided a detailed explanation of the vendor error or how such a large-scale mistake occurred.

Trump said he has asked Attorney General Todd Blanche and the Justice Department to investigate the ballot error. The DOJ has not publicly announced the opening of an investigation.

Miller confirmed she has not received any information from the DOJ regarding what the investigation will entail.

“We’ll see what the investigation shows,” Miller said.

The incident raises questions about election integrity safeguards in Maryland, particularly regarding vendor oversight and quality control measures for mail-in ballot distribution. The state’s assurance that duplicate voting cannot occur has done little to reassure critics concerned about the integrity of mail-in voting systems.

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