Maryland State Wire

An error with Maryland's Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) voter registration records has left the head of the IT department without a job.

The error could have affected as many as 80,000 voters who had tried to change their addresses or party affiliations online or via an MVA kiosk. A computer coding error barred certain information from being conveyed to the Board of Elections via the website or the kiosks.

Gov. Larry Hogan told WTOP in an interview on July 3 that the head of the IT department was no longer working for MVA. The error was discovered days before the state's June 26 primary election. Voters who were affected were told they would have to cast provisional ballots, but that they were able to vote.

Hogan said in the interview that more than 20,000 voters filled out provisional ballots during the June 26 primary.

Maryland Department of Transportation MVA Administrator Christine Nizer had stressed that eligible voters would not be turned away from their polling stations because of the error.

Previously, it had been thought that only 18,000 voters were affected. The State Board of Elections sent e-mails to approximately 74,000 voters to inform them that they were potentially affected the day before the Primary Election.

Hogan requested an audit to find out how the error occurred and to make sure it doesn't happen again.