My mail-in voting ballot was postmarked on Election Day (6/23) and Rejected for being "Late for election"
I dropped my mail-in ballot in the mailbox at 6:45am on election morning, June 23, which is well before the 9:00am collection time. A few days later, I received an email confirmation stating that my ballot was received on June 27.
On a whim this afternoon, I decided to check my ballot's status at https://voterservices.elections.maryland.gov/VoterResults and learned that it was Rejected for being "Late for election." However, we know this is incorrect because as long as your ballot was postmarked by election day, it will be counted.
I want my vote to be counted, especially because I'm in a district that has an extremely close race, so I have emailed the Baltimore County Board of Elections at elections@baltimorecountymd.gov to let them know. Unfortunately, since the results are scheduled to be certified the morning of July 6 at 8:30am, I think I caught the error too late. Still, I'd rather let them know now so they're made aware of the mistake to make sure it doesn't happen again in the future, when it will matter even more.
Also, I feel this needs to be said: I have voted by mail in every election since I have been able to vote. This mistake *DOES NOT* make me question the validity of the method and I will continue doing so for every election in the future. I'll just try my best to mail it at least a day early next time.
EDIT: u/Particular_Egg4073 pointed out that mail may not be postmarked on the day it's collected, so you should manually request one at the postmark counter: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/statements/010226-postmarking-myths-and-facts.htm. Thank you!
EDIT 2: u/Pasunepomme also pointed out that using the dedicated ballot collection drop boxes up until the close of the election on Election Day will guarantee your vote is counted.