The Howard County Board of Elections on Thursday continued counting mail-in ballots from Tuesday’s election, with additional counting of mail-in votes as well as provisional ballots set to continue on Wednesday Nov. 13.

In District 1, Meg Ricks moved into the lead over her opponent, newcomer Andre Gao. While Ricks had slightly trailed Gao after Election Day, she led late Thursday, winning 14,830, or 51%, to Gao’s 14,094.

School board chair Jen Mallo maintained her lead in District 4, receiving 15,813 votes, or 51.4%, to Julie Kaplan’s 14,731.

In District 5, newcomer Andrea Chamblee was garnering 18,239 votes, or 52%, to former state Del. Trent Kittleman’s 16,667. On Election Day, Chamblee was leading by 62 votes.

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For the other two districts, incumbents have kept their seats. Antonia Watts received 17,361 votes, or 67.3%, to newcomer Larry Doyle’s 8,107.

Jolene Mosley ran unopposed in District 3.

The school board has had a transformative year, from naming a new superintendent to overcoming a contentious school budget season to deflecting a push to restrict the content of school library books. A newer hot button topic is the ongoing debate over students’ access to cellphones.

The two at-large members, who are elected countywide, are not up for reelection until 2026. The current student member of the board, James Obasiolu, a senior at Atholton High School, occupies the other seat on the eight-member board.