All early voting returns have been counted and all 118 election day precincts have reported in Howard County for the 2022 primary.
Based on unofficial returns so far, Dan Newberger of Columbia is in the lead in the race for two at-large seats on the Howard County Board of Education, with 12,338 votes (18.49%). Close behind is Jacky McCoy of Columbia, with 11,708 votes (17.55%). In third place so far is Linfeng Chen of North Laurel with 10,235 votes (15.34%), and in fourth is Tudy Adler of Clarksville, with 9,670 (14.49%).
Newberger said he is pleased with the results of the election so far, but he realizes there are still more votes to be counted.
“I don’t want to take anything for granted, knowing that there are still thousands of mail-in and provisional ballots yet to be counted,” he said. “I am incredibly grateful to the over 12,000 voters who cast their votes for me in early voting and on Election Day and to all the dedicated volunteers who helped get our message out to those voters.”
McCoy said she, too, is pleased with the results.
“Having jumped into the race late on April 13, I am excited to be in the top two positions for the at-large seats for the Howard County Board of Education,” she said. “This is a pivotal race that can impact the direction and future of the Howard County Public School System.”
Chen said he is grateful to the community for voting.
Howard County Times: Top stories
“Right now we are still waiting for the mail-in ballots results and the race is very close,” he said. “Regardless of the primary election outcome, I want to thank all the candidates for stepping up.”
After the primary the top four candidates will advance to the general election in November. Other candidates in the school board race are Susan Dreisch of Ellicott City (11.83%), Monique Richards of Ellicott City (9.77%), Julie Hotopp of Columbia (6.43%), and Meg Ricks of Elkridge (6.1%).
In the county council race, there were two contested races in the primary, both for Democratic incumbents.
Liz Walsh, who represents District 1, has earned 3,000 votes so far (68.7%) compared with her challenger Neveen Kurtom, with 1,367 (31.3%). In District 4, challenger Janssen Evelyn pulled ahead of Deb Jung, who currently represents the district. Evelyn had 2,851 votes (50.28%) to Jung’s 2,516 (44.37%).
In the other council races, candidates ran unopposed in the Republican and Democratic primaries.
Howard County has 228,019 registered voters. As of Monday, about 13,000 mail-in ballots had been returned to the Howard County Board of Elections, according to Election Director Guy Mickley.
Mail-in ballots will start to be counted at 10 a.m., Thursday, at Howard High School, 8700 Old Annapolis Road, Ellicott City. Provisional ballots are scheduled to be counted at 10 a.m., July 27 at the school. The election results will be certified on July 29.