Update: The Maryland State Board of Elections is taking emergency legal action to prevent delayed results in future elections after the primary for county executive between incumbent Marc Elrich and David Blair took nearly a month to certify.

Currently, Maryland doesn’t allow the processing of mail-in ballots until two days after Election Day — the only state with such a law. Republican Gov. Larry Hogan vetoed a bill state lawmakers passed earlier this year that would have ended the measure.

The board unanimously voted to file an emergency petition in a circuit court, seeking approval to count mail-in ballots ahead of Election Day, according to a release. The results of that tallying wouldn’t be released until the polls close.

“Given Maryland’s experience in the primary election and the expected and continued expansion of mail-in balloting, the inability of the local boards of elections to canvass mail-in ballots before Election Day could have significant implications,” the board said in a release. “It could leave local, statewide, and even federal contests without certified results until late December 2022 or early January 2023.”

The board certified Marc Elrich as the nominee for the Democratic primary for county executive, though a recount is expected to take place this week. Elrich leads by just 35 votes. The certification also locked in Maryland’s gubernatorial race: Democrat Wes Moore, a well-known author, will face Republican Del. Dan Cox on the ballot in November.

Original: Incumbent Marc Elrich is the certified nominee in the Democratic primary for Montgomery County Executive after officials tabulated a cache of uncounted ballots that threatened to upset his fragile lead against rival David Blair.

Elrich is now ahead by a wafer-thin margin of 35 votes after officials confirmed the final count on Saturday, but he still faces a recount that could throw yet another wrench into the race that has stretched on nearly four weeks after primary election day.

Blair called for a full recount last week after an initial tabulation put Elrich ahead by just 42 votes. The wealthy businessman did not back down after 102 belatedly discovered ballots narrowed Elrich’s lead by seven votes. In 2018, Blair lost to the veteran Democrat by a 77-vote margin following a partial recount.

Speaking on WAMU’s The Politics Hour on Friday, Elrich said he expects the upcoming recount to confirm his win. “I figured this will split like other things have pretty narrowly,” he said.

Maryland’s state board of elections is expected to certify the results today.

The extremely close race has prompted some election observers to call for Montgomery County to adopt ranked choice voting, in which voters rank candidates by preference rather than selecting just one. The city of Takoma Park adopted ranked choice voting in 2006.

The Democratic nominee will go on to face Republican contender Reardon Sullivan in November. Voters in Montgomery County have not elected a Republican executive since 1970.