UMVA has learned that Maryland’s lieutenant governor, Aruna Miller, fiercely rebuked a presidential demand for a Justice Department probe into a mail‑in ballot mishap, calling the accusation of corruption a distortion of ordinary election logistics.
President Trump urged the DOJ to investigate after state officials admitted that a vendor mistakenly sent out incorrect mail‑in ballots ahead of the primary. He blamed Democratic Governor Wes Moore, alleging a deliberate scheme to tip the race in favor of Democrats.
Miller told reporters that the Maryland State Board of Elections operates independently of the governor’s office and that ballot‑distribution errors are a recurring, though unintentional, part of election administration.
“The board is a separate body from us,” she said. “Mistakes happen; ballots sometimes get mailed the wrong way. It occurs in almost every election.”
While Maryland has experienced isolated glitches—such as a voter‑roll software flaw in 2018—there is no evidence that incorrect mail‑in ballots are a systematic, election‑wide phenomenon.
The board announced it will re‑mail new ballots to every voter who received a flawed one before May 14, emphasizing that safeguards prevent any risk of duplicate voting.
Trump amplified the controversy, claiming “500,000 illegal mail‑in ballots” had been sent and questioning how the state would avoid duplicate votes.
Miller dismissed the notion of malicious intent, attributing the problem to a vendor error rather than a conspiratorial plot.
State elections administrator Jared DeMarinis also refuted the claim that “illegal” ballots were distributed, underscoring the absence of any wrongdoing.
Although Trump has asked Attorney General Todd Blanche and the Justice Department to open an investigation, the DOJ has not launched one, and Miller said she has received no details about any pending probe.
“We’ll see what the investigation shows,” Miller concluded, leaving the matter in the hands of the authorities while the state moves to correct the ballot distribution.
