Absentee ballot processing begins as Maryland Democrats await gubernatorial nominee

Maryland is set to begin counting absentee ballots on Thursday, ballots that will ultimately decide who wins the yet-uncalled Democratic gubernatorial primary in the state.

Author and former nonprofit executive Wes Moore leads the vote count as of Thursday morning, per NBC News' Decision Desk, with 37% of the vote. Former Labor Secretary and Democrat National Committee Chairman Tom Perez sits at second with 27% and Comptroller Peter Franchot is in third with just under 20%.

NBC's Decision Desk estimates there are about 220,000 votes outstanding, about 37% of the expected vote total.

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Under Maryland law, the state could not begin to canvass absentee ballots until 10 a.m. Thursday. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, it's the only state with a specific prohibition on processing absentee ballots until after an election.

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan vetoed a bill aimed at moving up the canvassing window to before the election and expanding ways voters could sign their ballot if they turned it in unsigned. While he said he supported allowing election officials to start processing absentee ballots earlier, he vetoed the bill over concerns the signature verification portion of the bill didn't strike the right "balance" with additional election security measures like "signature verification."