Election Logistics
Request your mail-in ballot: You have until October 20th to request your mail-in ballot.
Returning your ballot: You can return your ballot by:
- Returning by mail
- Using one of several secure drop box locations throughout the County
You cannot return your ballot in any other way.
When you return your ballot you must make sure to return it in the envelope provided and it must be signed. If either of these things does not happen, your ballot will not be counted.
Early Voting Centers will be open from October 26th to November 2nd. There are 11 Early Voting Centers in Montgomery County and you can vote at ANY of these locations. They are:
| Location | Street | City | Zip Code |
| Activity Center at Bohrer Park | 506 S. Frederick Avenue | Gaithersburg | 20877 |
| Damascus Community Recreation Center | 25520 Oak Drive | Damascus | 20872 |
| Executive Office Building | 101 Monroe Street | Rockville | 20850 |
| Germantown Community Recreation Center | 18905 Kingsview Road | Germantown | 20874 |
| Jane E. Lawton Community Recreation Center | 4301 Willow Lane | Chevy Chase | 20815 |
| Marilyn J. Praisner Community Recreation Center | 14906 Old Columbia Pike | Burtonsville | 20866 |
| Mid-County Community Recreation Center | 2004 Queensguard Road | Silver Spring | 20906 |
| Potomac Community Recreation Center | 11315 Falls Road | Potomac | 20854 |
| Sandy Spring Volunteer Fire Department | 17921 Brooke Road | Silver Spring | 20860 |
| Silver Spring Civic Building | 1 Veterans Place | Silver Spring | 20910 |
| Wheaton Library & Community Recreation Center | 11701 Georgia Avenue | Wheaton | 20902 |
There are 40 locations for voting on Election Day
Sample Ballot
Montgomery County’s sample ballot is already available.
2020 Election Races
Presidential
We live in Maryland, a decidedly Blue state that will likely go to Biden and Harris. If you have reservations voting for either of those two (which are valid!) then I urge you to look into the two sets of third party candidates on the ballot in Maryland: Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker of the Green Party and Jerome Segal and John de Graaf of the Bread and Roses Party. This is not an endorsement for either, but know that you do have more options. Yes, I know there is also a Libertarian option.
Representatives in Congress
District 3
It’s 2020 and if you don’t have LGBTQ issues, especially trans issues, explicitly on your campaign website I’m not going to spend a ton of time talking about you. With that being said, John Sarbanes is running for District 3 and the Democrats can’t afford to lose a seat in either the House or Senate.
District 6
If your only LGBTQ issue is passing the Equality Act then you have some work to do, but again, Democrats can’t afford to lose a seat in either the House or Senate so voting for David Trone is advised.
District 8
Jamie Raskin is the only actual Progressive running for Congress in Montgomery County in 2020. He’s been a rockstar in the House and will continue putting in the work if re-elected.
Judge of the Circuit Court Circuit 6
You can vote for up to 4 judges for Circuit Court. Some of these judges are currently seated, but that doesn’t mean you should vote for them. You also don’t have to vote for 4. You can just vote for 1, which is what I’m doing.
Maryland has one of the highest incarceration rates for Black men in the entire country. Black individuals make up just 31% of the population in Maryland but account for 69% of the prison population. Currently, Maryland has the highest incarceration rate for young Black men in the country.
I can’t support sitting judges that have contributed to this. That’s why the only candidate for Circuit Court I’m voting for, and one that MoCo Local is endorsing, is Marilynn Pierre.
Judge, Court of Appeals Circuit 7
The Court of Appeals is the highest court in the State of Maryland, aka the Supreme Court of Maryland. You don’t get to vote a judge onto the Court of Appeals, but you do get to decide whether they can keep their seat. If a majority of voters select “No” then a new judge is appointed by the Governor. I urge you to vote “Yes” for Mary Ellen Barbera because Hogan doesn’t need to leave any more of a stain on Maryland than he already has.
Judge, Court of Special Appeals At Large
The Court of Special Appeals is an intermediate appellate court. Similar to judges on the Court of Appeals, voters do not get to vote judges onto the court. They are initially appointed and then voters get to choose whether judges can remain on the court or not. If a majority of voters vote “No” on their ballots, the Governor can appoint a new judge. This is why I urge you to vote “Yes” for E. Gregory Wells.
Judge, Court of Special Appeals District 7
The Court of Special Appeals is an intermediate appellate court. Similar to judges on the Court of Appeals, voters do not get to vote judges onto the court. They are initially appointed and then voters get to choose whether judges can remain on the court or not. If a majority of voters vote “No” on their ballots, the Governor can appoint a new judge. This is why I urge you to vote “Yes” for Steven B. Gould.
Board of Education At Large
The June primary for the Board of Education At Large seat was divisive. Thankfully, pro-equity candidates moved onto the General election. There are a number of places where you can find out where both Sunil Dasgupta and Lynne Harris stand on issues that our school district is currently facing–the Equity Questionnaire is a great place to start if you want to ensure that all students receive an equitable education.
I like both Sunil and Lynne as candidates and I think both would do well in the role.
Board of Education District 2
Incumbent Rebecca Smondrowski is in favor of “local schools” which is not quite the racist dog whistle as “neighborhood schools” but…isn’t much better. She was the only candidate to not show up to the MoCo Local and the LGBTQ Democrats of Montgomery County Board of Education Forum. She also failed to respond to the Equity Questionnaire. She also voted against studying school boundaries.
Her opponent, Michael Fryar, is in favor of using data to redistrict school boundaries but believes it should be a last resort. He did complete the Equity Questionnaire.
I’ll be voting for Michael Fryar because I don’t think Rebecca Smondrowski is up to the challenge of creating an equitable education system for all students.
UPDATE: I wrote in Dalbin Osorio for District 2, who ran for the At-Large seat but didn’t receive enough votes to move to the general election.
Board of Education District 4
Incumbent Shebra Evans has done a good job of representing District 4 on the Board of Education so I urge you to re-elect her.
2020 Ballot Questions
On this year’s ballot we have two state questions and four county questions.
Maryland State Question 1
One of my biggest complaints with Maryland politics and governing is how much control the governor has over how the state can spend money. The legislative branch has almost no say in the budget, and ultimately that means residents have no say either, and it’s a shame. Question 1 is for a Constitutional Amendment that would change this, giving more power to the Maryland General Assembly to control the budget.
I’ll be voting in favor of the constitutional amendment.
Maryland State Question 2
The Maryland Constitution was amended in 2007 that would require a referendum on any changes to legal gambling in the state. Voting in favor of this question would give the Maryland General Assembly the ability to pass legislation legalizing sports betting.
I’ll be voting in favor of the constitutional amendment. If this passes, we would need to ensure that there is plenty of oversight in whatever legislation is passed, but that’s an issue for another time. Progressive organizations have mostly come out against this question, but as someone who grew up in a family with several members addicted to gambling I would much rather have legal gambling than illegal gambling.
Montgomery County Question A
Current law places a cap on how much total tax revenue the county can receive. This law would replace the tax revenue limit with a cap on the property tax rate. This means the county would be able to have more revenue to work with, ultimately providing an opportunity to fund more services. Any increases to the property tax rate would need to be approved by all of the Councilmembers.
MoCo Local recommends that you vote for Question A.
Montgomery County Question B
This Amendment would prohibit the county from increasing total revenue received by property taxes beyond the rate of inflation under any circumstances. This would severely limit the services that the County could fund, including education. If passed, this would benefit the county’s most wealthy which is probably why the petitioned for it in the first place.
MoCo Local recommends that you vote against Question B.
Montgomery County Question C
There is no doubt that the population of the county has grown in recent years and the current council structure could use some updating. Councilmember Evan Glass introduced Question C to increase the number of Councilmembers from 5 to 7, and would keep the 4 At-Large seats. This would ensure each council district would represent around 150,000 residents.
Andrew Saundry’s op-ed from September argues for why Question C is the best option for UpCounty (as well as the rest of the county): “Ballot Question C captures the best of both worlds: We retain the at-large members while increasing the number of districts by two to increase representation for all.”
MoCo Local recommends voting for Question C.
Montgomery County Question D
Question D, submitted by petition, would change the Council structure by removing all At-Large seats and creating 9 districts. Started by UpCounty residents, this structure would actually reduce representation. Adam Pagnucco at The Seventh State has written extensively about who funds Nine Districts and why Republicans are in support of this kind of structure.
MoCo Local recommends voting against Question D.
If you feel that this helped you in any way, consider buying MoCo Local a coffee or beer. You can do so through Venmo (@Vito-Anastasia).
