News from the Board of Elections
By Jim Shalleck, Board President
I recently had the pleasure of speaking to the Chevy Chase Women’s Republican Club at their monthly luncheon. It was a great time with over 40 attendees. Led by CCWRC president Laurie Halverson and former CCWRC president Nancy Griffin, we had a meaningful discussion about the state of politics in our county, along with suggested ways for the GOP to participate more fully in the electoral process. The CCWRC always takes a leadership role in the GOP’s efforts to elect Republicans, which includes fundraising and other volunteer efforts on behalf of GOP candidates.
First, I presented the club with our most recent total voter registration numbers in the county: Democrats 423,045; Republicans 122,669; Unaffiliated 159,385; Green 1787; and Libertarian 3514. The total voter registration numbers in Montgomery County is more than a number of states.
Another noteworthy fact is that a new party called Bread and Roses has gained ballot access for the next election.
We then talked about recent developments and legislative initiatives, including the following:
- A proposal in the legislature to increase the number of early voting sites in the county from 11 to 13
- Same election day/ voter registration
- Another legislative proposal to allow Montgomery County to enact rank choice voting for local offices
Dave Drake also spoke about the proposed redistricting for Congressional District 6 and Diane Dillon spoke about the Club’s participation in election activities.
A spirited discussion ensued among the luncheon attendees, who proposed various suggestions on how to engage GOP activists in the next election and how to help recruit election judges and new volunteers.
If you’d like to follow election updates and registration activity in the county, please go to the Montgomery County MD Board of Elections website (scroll to Hot Topics on our home page and click to Monthly Statistics for updated registration data)
Also, I would recommend that you attend the Board of Elections monthly meetings. We meet on the third Monday of the month. There is a public comment period at the beginning of each meeting (up to three minutes each) to allow attendees to present their concerns to the board, followed by questions and comments. Our other members of the board are Nahid Khozeimeh, Vice President, Alex Vincent, and Jackie Phillips. We hope to see you at our meetings.