Harris Leads In Howard County Sheriff's Race, Results Pending

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Howard County voters went to the polls Tuesday to decide who will be the next county sheriff and other races.

Sheriff Marcus Harris sought a second term against GOP challenger John Francis McMahon.

Here are the preliminary results from the sheriff's election in Howard County as of 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Sheriff

• John Francis McMahon (R) - 36.65%
• Marcus Harris (D): marcusharrisforsheriff.com - 63.22%

When Will The Results Be Certified?

Election officials will not certify the final results for at least 10 days. Officials must wait for every mail-in and provisional ballot to come in.

Soon after polls close on Nov. 8, the Maryland State Board of Elections will release the jurisdiction-specific tallies from in-person early voting and mail-in ballots counted up to Election Day.

Officials will start releasing the Election Day vote counts over the following hours on election night.

All 24 jurisdictions will start releasing their early voting and Election Day tallies on Nov. 8. Only 10 will release the mail-in ballot results tallied before Election Day.

The Maryland Court of Appeals on Oct. 7 ruled that local election offices can opt to start counting mail-in ballots before Election Day. They cannot release these results until after polls close on Election Day, and they must continue accepting ballots until the statewide deadline of Nov. 18 at 10 a.m.

• Related: Maryland's Highest Court Upholds Order Allowing Early Counting Of Mail-In Ballots

These jurisdictions plan to conduct pre-Election Day canvassing of mail-in ballots: Baltimore City and Allegany, Baltimore, Calvert, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's, Saint Mary's and Washington Counties.

Election officials will tally provisional ballots on Nov. 16. Mail-in ballots will be counted as they arrive until Nov. 18. Local boards cannot certify their results before Nov. 18.

Here is some more coverage of Maryland's biggest races:

• Moore And Cox Sling Harsh Criticisms At One Another In Taut, Freewheeling TV Debate
• Biden Looks To Weed Decriminalization: What It Means Ahead Of MD Marijuana Referendum
• Biden Visits Hagerstown Factory To Help Trone, Bash GOP, And Tout His Record On Manufacturing
• Glassman, Lierman Make Their Case To Be Maryland's Next Comptroller
• Peroutka Pledges To Bypass Abortion, Marriage Laws; Would Pursue Legal Action Against Hogan
• Maryland's Highest Court Upholds Order Allowing Early Counting Of Mail-In Ballots