While the majority of Maryland’s local election boards began counting mail-in ballots weeks ago, state election officials said Wednesday that several hundred thousand ballots remain to be canvassed, a process that involves validating the ballot and recording its vote.

The results are not likely to affect the vast majority of races or ballot measures across Maryland, but there are a handful of local education board races that were too close to call on Election Day.

A winner has also not been called in the 6th Congressional District race, but the number of outstanding mail-in ballots would favor Democratic challenger April McClain Delaney, according to a Republican strategist.

“By far and away it will just widen the gap,” Paul Ellington, former executive director of the Maryland Republican Party and chief of staff to former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R), said of the uncounted mail-in ballots in the 6th District race. “It’s unfortunate that they don’t count them faster. That’s the way it works in Maryland. A Lot of states count them as they receive them.”

State election officials report that approximately 358,613 mail-in ballots have already been counted of the 878,906 requested by voters.

“Since the 2022 election, a state law was passed requiring canvass of mail-in ballots to begin in advance of the start of early voting, unless a local board requests not to canvass for [a] valid reason,” state election board deputy administrator Katherine Berry said.

She said 21 of Maryland’s 24 local election boards began canvassing mail-in ballots a few weeks ago. Cecil, Dorchester, and Somerset counties delayed counting mail-in ballots prior to early voting, Berry said.

On Thursday, local election officials will begin to count the remaining 309,982 that already have been received, Berry said.

Approximately 210,000 mail-in ballots remain outstanding, but based on historical data from the 2022 gubernatorial and 2020 presidential elections in Maryland, the majority of them should be returned.

Any mail-in ballot post-marked on or before Nov. 5 will be counted, along with ballots dropped in ballot boxes prior to 8 p.m. on Election Day, Berry said.