The Charles County Board of Election Supervisors issued the following statement regarding the delay in posting primary election results on the website of the Charles County government, www.charlescounty.org:
"As the board of supervisors, we feel it is important to explain to voters the electoral process used to count the votes after polls closed at 8 p.m. Sept. 12.
"We especially do not want that delay to reflect negatively on the fine work done all during primary election day by hundreds of workers at Charles County's 36 election precincts and the staff of the Charles County Board of Elections. "After the polls closed at 8 p.m., each precinct returned memory cards from each machine used at each precinct in the County to the Charles County Government Building. Approximately 440 machines were in use throughout Charles County; by approximately 10:30 p.m. we had received all memory cards from all precincts.
"Elections Board employees processed cards as they were returned. However, the number of memory cards, and the unusually large ballot, made reading the cards a cumbersome challenge. In addition, in order to post partial and updated results on the Internet, it was necessary to stop the reading of the memory cards. These combined challenges are what caused the inordinately long delay in posting complete election results. As a Board, we will be looking to see if there is any way to expedite the process for the general election.
"Once again, we wish to thank our full-time staff, our many precinct workers, and the staff of the Charles County I.T. Department, for doing an excellent job. Residents and voters in Charles County can take pride in the professional conduct of elections in our county. We offer our thanks to these outstanding public servants."