As mail-in and provisional ballots continue to be counted in the Democratic primary for Montgomery County Executive, the latest update by the Maryland State Board of Elections (8:11pm, 7/29) shows that David Blair (46,824, 39.32%) leads incumbent Marc Elrich (46,693, 39.21%) by 131 votes.
David Blair led by 1,191 votes when early voting and Election Day votes were tallied. Elrich took the lead early on during the canvassing of mail-in votes, but Blair closed the gap and eventually reclaimed the lead. Overall, Blair has received 17,470 mail-in/provisional ballot votes compared to 18,665 for Marc Elrich. Marc Elrich defeated David Blair by just 77 votes in the 2018 Democratic Primary.
Provisional ballots started being canvassed on Wednesday, July 27. All canvass sessions, which are open to the public, will begin at 10 a.m. and will be held at Montgomery College Germantown Campus at 20200 Observation Drive, BE 151/152, Germantown, Maryland 20876. The canvassing schedule can be seen here.
According to Bethesda Beat, “Alysoun McLaughlin, the county’s acting election director, has said she expects that a majority of mail-in ballots — at least 95% or more — will be canvassed and scanned by the first week of August. The goal is to certify the election by Aug. 12, she said earlier this month.” Election results, from the State Board of Elections, can be seen here.