What's Going On With Early Voting Sites in MoCo?

Some people appear to be confused about reports of controversy concerning early voting locations in Montgomery County. Here are the basic facts.

Starting in 2010, as the result of a Maryland Constitutional amendment, voters in our state were permitted to vote early at certain sites to be selected by county and state Boards of Election. About 2/3 of the states now have early voting.

At first the early voting period was 6 day but that was expanded to 8 days starting with the 2014 elections. The number of early voting locations was also increased. Montgomery County has 9 of them.

Under Maryland law, the Governor appoints the members of each county's Board of Elections, with no more than a majority from any party. Therefore, when our state had a Democratic governor all the boards of election had Democratic majorities. Now that we have a Republican governor, MoCo and all other counties have a Republican majority.

On September 21, 2015, the MoCo Board of Elections voted 3-2 (3 Republicans and 2 Democrats) to eliminate 2 of the early voting centers that had been used in the past, particularly the one at the Marilyn J. Praisner Center, which in the 2014 general election early voting period had the second highest number of voters. On top of that, the Praisner center is located in an area where it can cater to voters from minority groups who live nearby. The Board of Elections retained an early voting center in Damascus, which had the lowest number of early voters in 2014.

Those who oppose what the MoCo Board of Elections did support having early voting sites where most people live or work. Those who support what the MoCo Board of Education did support early voting sites in areas that have fewer voters, to see if they can increase the number of voters.

That's what the current dispute it about. Should early voting centers be located where the greatest number of voters can and do use them, or should they be located in places that might increase their number of voters.