President Donald Trump has called for a federal investigation into a mail-in ballot error in Maryland after election officials confirmed that some voters received incorrect party ballots for the state’s gubernatorial primary election.
In a post shared on Monday on Truth Social, Trump said he would ask the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney General to investigate Maryland’s State Board of Elections following the ballot mix-up involving the state’s mail-in voting vendor.
The Maryland State Board of Elections acknowledged that the vendor mistakenly mailed the wrong party ballots to some voters ahead of the gubernatorial primary. Although officials said the number of affected voters may be small, the board announced that all mail-in ballots sent before May 14 would be replaced to avoid confusion.
As a result, more than 500,000 replacement ballots are expected to be reissued.
Reacting to the incident, Trump accused Maryland Governor Wes Moore of being responsible for the mistake.
“This was done by the Corrupt Governor of the State, Wes Moore,” Trump wrote.
“He allowed this to happen in order to make sure the Democrats win. It never made sense to me that Maryland was considered an automatic Democrat State, but now I see why.”
Governor Moore’s office quickly rejected the allegations, describing Trump’s remarks as misleading.
“The State Board of Elections identified a vendor error, disclosed it publicly, and is fixing it to ensure every eligible voter receives a valid ballot and every valid vote is counted,” the governor’s office said.
Officials also urged residents to rely on verified election information rather than online claims.
“Marylanders should look to the State Board of Elections for accurate information, not social media misinformation designed to undermine confidence in our elections,” the statement added.
Trump had earlier posted on Saturday that Maryland election officials had distributed “500,000 Fake Mail-in Ballots,” a claim that was denied by the election board.
According to the State Board of Elections, no fake ballots were issued. The agency clarified that the problem stemmed from a printing and mailing error by its vendor, which caused some voters to receive ballots for the wrong political party in the gubernatorial race, where Moore is seeking reelection.
Despite the correction efforts, Trump continued his criticism on Monday.
“In Maryland, they sent out 500,000 Illegal Mail In Ballots, and they got caught!” he wrote.
“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!”
Maryland State Administrator of Elections Jared DeMarinis also pushed back against Trump’s claims in a social media response.
“It bears repeating that no fake OR illegal mail-in ballots were distributed. The wording in President Trump’s continued posts about Maryland’s elections creates an environment of misinformation on voting rights. Mail-in voting is not a partisan issue. Mail-in voting is legal,” DeMarinis stated.
He further stressed that the governor does not oversee the election process.
“To clarify, Maryland elections are administered, supervised and managed by the bipartisan State Board of Elections- not the Governor. I’m the chief State election official in charge of implementing and conducting the election,” he said.
DeMarinis explained that the board had already acknowledged the mistake publicly and was working rapidly to address concerns from affected voters.
“The action taken for reissuance of ballots eliminates any doubt about the integrity or accuracy of mail-in voting,” he said.
“Maryland’s elections are verified, secure, and transparent. Mail-in voting is, and will remain, an integral part of the electoral process. Every eligible voter will get a chance to cast their ballot in their chosen manner, and every voice will be heard.”
Maryland’s primary election is scheduled for June 23, 2026, which is also the deadline for voters to return mail-in ballots.
