Annapolis and Anne Arundel County elections officials are asking voters who requested mail-in ballots for Tuesday’s primary election to place them in drop boxes across the city, citing U.S. Postal Service delays.

The city says there have been “extreme delays” in the delivery of mail-in ballot request forms to the Anne Arundel Board of Elections, which helps administer city elections, and lags in the delivery of ballots to voters.

Annapolis attributed the problem to “issues with the U.S. Postal Service.”

The problems date to July, according to a email sent Tuesday from Anne Arundel County Board of Elections Director David Garreis to Annapolis Elections Administrator Regina C. Watkins-Eldridge and obtained by The Banner

On July 17, elections officials “received incorrect information from the post office ... leading our mail vendor to file an official complaint due to poor customer service,” Garreis wrote.

“We received no mail from Annapolis until September 8th,” Garreis added. “This delay occurred despite numerous attempts by my staff, Annapolis staff, and me, through emails and phone calls, to ascertain the cause of the holdup and expedite delivery. Our team even offered to make a special trip to the Baltimore facility to pick up the delayed mail.”

Some of the mail received Sept. 8 was postmarked Aug. 4, Garreis said.

“We are currently looking into the matter,” said Mark Lawrence, a Postal Service spokesperson, in an email.

Annapolis resident Bill Borwegen mailed his completed ballot on Sept. 2, only for it to be returned to him Saturday.

Borwegen expressed concerns about the postal service mishaps given President Donald Trump’s stated desire to end mail-in voting based on unfounded claims that it is susceptible to voter fraud.

“The post office just seems to be letting us down here,” he said. “Trump’s maybe getting his wish that mail-in ballots aren’t the way to vote, even though most of us do agree that it is. … I think the local boards are doing their jobs but they’re being sabotaged by [the] postal service.”

Rather than their relying on the mail to deliver their votes, elections officials are asking voters who received mail-in ballots to bring them to drop boxes located in each Annapolis City Council district. Such voters can also bring their completed ballots to a polling place.

The drop boxes can be found at the following locations, which are also polling places:

• Ward 1 – City Hall, 160 Duke of Gloucester St.
• Ward 2 – Michael E. Busch Annapolis Library, 1410 West St.
• Ward 3 – Mt. Olive Community Life Center, 2 Hicks Ave.
• Ward 4 – American Legion Post #141, 1707 Forest Drive
• Ward 5 – Roger “Pip” Moyer Recreation Center, 273 Hilltop Lane
• Ward 6 – Eastport Community Center, 1014 President St.
• Ward 7 – Eastport-Annapolis Neck Library, 269 Hillsmere Drive
• Ward 8 – Eastport Volunteer Fire Hall, 914 Bay Ridge Ave.

The city also says that residents who haven’t received their mail-in ballots should plan to vote in person come Tuesday’s primary.

“On Primary Election Day, voters whose Mail-in Ballot delivery has been delayed may be asked to vote by Provisional Ballot,” officials said. “If a voter has not returned their Mail-in ballot, or the Board of Elections has not received the ballot by the time of the official canvass on Sept. 23, the Provisional Ballot will be counted.”