Maryland’s unofficial results for Prince George’s County executive showed a zero next to Moisette Tonya Sweat’s name Monday. The line immediately below it showed 39,260 votes under “Other Write-Ins.” Sweat and her supporters have questioned the zero. At that stage, the results page showed how many write-in votes had been reported for the race as a whole. Sweat’s individual tally was still pending. Unofficial county results · The Banner’s reporting
What the scanner counts
On a paper ballot, a voter fills in the write-in oval and writes a name on the line beside it. The scanner detects the filled oval. The name is read later, which is why Maryland initially reports write-ins together. The 39,260 shown Monday was the combined write-in count for county executive at the time. The table gives no breakdown of how many of those votes were for Sweat. Maryland State Board of Elections explanation · Unofficial county results
How votes get assigned to a candidate
During the post-election canvass, when officials review and tally ballots, county election workers examine the write-ins by hand. The State Board of Elections says the county will report a separate total for each certified write-in candidate before it certifies the election results. Sweat is listed as a write-in candidate on Maryland’s official roster. County Board of Elections · Official candidate list
When to look for Sweat’s total
The state calendar lists Friday, Nov. 13, as the day local boards begin certifying results after verifying the count. State election officials say some counties may need extra days to finish counting. As of Monday, the county’s posted schedule gave no specific release time for Sweat’s tally. Voters can check the County Executive section of Maryland’s results page as the canvass wraps up. State election calendar · State canvassing schedule · County canvassing schedule · County results page