Julie Walsh, Sharon Wilhide and Marsha Herbert hold the top three spots in the race for three seats on the Carroll County Board of Education after the Carroll County Board of Elections counted provisional and mail-in ballots Thursday.
Wilhide moved from third to second, according to unofficial results posted by the Maryland State Board of Elections at 6:50 p.m. Herbert, now third, leads fourth-place Shannon Hinkhaus by 311 votes. Fewer than 100 ballots are expected in the board’s final scheduled count Friday.
Voters could choose up to three candidates in one countywide race, and the three candidates with the most votes win seats.
Where the race stands after Thursday’s count
Candidate | New Total | Added Thursday |
|---|---|---|
Julie V. Walsh | 29,210 | +1,517 |
Sharon Wilhide | 28,702 | +1,558 |
Marsha B. Herbert | 28,082 | +794 |
Shannon Hinkhaus | 27,771 | +826 |
Lisa Maisano | 26,989 | +1,570 |
Cleveland Christopher Friday | 24,057 | +794 |
The votes the state added Thursday match results printouts posted at the Carroll County Board of Elections.
Why the race changed
Thursday’s ballots followed the pattern of earlier mail-in counts. Wilhide, Maisano and Walsh, the top three mail-in vote-getters on Nov. 5, each added more than 1,500 votes. Herbert, Hinkhaus and Friday each added fewer than 830.
Wilhide has moved up in each count since election night, from fourth to third after the Nov. 5 count and now to second.
What’s left
The board’s final scheduled canvass is Friday, Nov. 13. Fewer than 100 ballots remain, Election Director Erin Perrone said Wednesday, though that number could change depending on board decisions and any timely mail-in ballots received by 10 a.m. Friday.
Under Maryland law, mail-in ballots count if they were postmarked by 8 p.m. on Election Day and received by the local board by 10 a.m. on the second Friday after the election.
The board expects to certify the results Friday, Perrone said Thursday.