Annapolis, MD (September 24, 2025) - County Executive Steuart Pittman issued the following statement regarding conducting a hand count audit of the 2025 Annapolis Primary Election:
“On election night, Annapolis election judges delivered total tapes to City Hall, where Anne Arundel County Board of Elections staff entered the numbers into a spreadsheet to create a summary sheet. Those results were announced as unofficial.
While the spreadsheet formulas were sound, a data entry error placed totals for Ward 6 candidates into the wrong row. The mistake affected only Ward 6 and no other contests. Importantly, the checks and balances built into the process worked: an audit conducted during yesterday’s canvass identified the error, and it was immediately reported to the Annapolis Board of Supervisors of Elections.
I fully support the decision by the Anne Arundel County Board of Elections and the Annapolis Board of Canvassers to conduct a complete hand count audit of all in-person and mail ballots cast in the 2025 Annapolis Primary Election. This audit will be open to the public and will take place starting at 10am on Thursday, September 25 at the Board of Elections located at 6740 Baymeadow Drive, Glen Burnie. It will be conducted with the highest level of care, overseen by bipartisan teams to ensure accuracy and transparency.
Moving forward, the Board of Elections will implement additional audit steps, including on-site verification of results at the County facility on election night, immediate tape audits by election judges, and more robust checks to catch any potential errors before releasing unofficial results.
The integrity of our elections is of the utmost importance, and I want residents to know that their votes were cast and counted accurately.”