George Wenschhof
So far, the City of Frederick elected officials have not acted on my proposal to change the election date from the current off-year election date to coincide with the presidential election.
As I pointed out in previous columns (all of which can be accessed by clicking on their title located in the right hand margin of our Home Page) this change would more than double the anemic 30% voter turnout in the general election.
An added potential plus is a cost savings for the city by piggybacking on the presidential election cycle. Also, public schools would be able to be used for the election. The local schools informed the city they would not be available for polling locations for the election this year.
Instead of looking to ways to make this work, delays have occurred and potential problems highlighted, including the current early primary date the state of Maryland has in the presidential election which some felt would not work well in the city election.
One of the solutions I proposed to that issue was to move the city primary date from mid September to early June after the schools had closed so that they may be used for polling locations. I agree, we do not want to have the voters going to separate polling locations from the primary and the general election as that would be confusing.
An even better solution to this perceived problem with a split primary is to work with the state legislature to move the presidential primary date back to May which it was during the 1970's and 1980's. The push to move Maryland's primary to an earlier date was an attempt by the general assembly to make the state's ten electoral votes more relevant.
Throughout the 1990's and up to 2008, the Maryland presidential primary was held in early March and then last year moved to February 12. These moves did not impact on the relevancy of the ten electoral votes held by Maryland. There are a total of 538 electoral votes and 270 are needed for a candidate to win the presidency.
The month of May would be a better date for Maryland also due to the snowy and inclement weather in February and early March. This would also work well with the City of Frederick election as presently the general election is held only seven weeks after the late primary on September 15. Seven weeks hardly allows the candidates time to inform the voters the differences they have with their opponents.
The City of Frederick election would then be able to dovetail with the presidential election and would utilize the same polling locations.
Meanwhile, the City of Hagerstown, Maryland City Council, who recently held their municipal election, voted 5-0 to move their election to coincide with the presidential election. This was without mention of a need for a split primary and obviously would change their current primary and general election dates. The Hagerstown Herald-Mail has more here.
Stay Tuned....
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Monday, June 8, 2009
City of Frederick, MD Change of Election Date Update
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
City of Frederick Asks for Input on Election Date Change
George Wenschhof Bio
As many of our readers know, I proposed a change in the date of the City of Frederick election date to coincide with the Presidential election. You can read more on my position here. This election date change will result in more than doubling the current weak 32% voter turnout and also save the taxpayer some of the costs associated with holding a separate election.
Bipartisan support for the change resulted in the Mayor and Board of Aldermen holding a workshop to discuss this issue. During the workshop held on January 14, 2009, the Mayor and 4 of the 5 Aldermen supported the change. Only Republican Alderman Paul Smith was opposed to the change. You can read more about that meeting here.
Mayor Jeff Holtzinger issued a media advisory yesterday asking for input from citizens on the proposed change. Following positive response, the next hopeful step would be for the Mayor to advertise and schedule a Mayor and Board meeting to formally vote on the proposal.
The President of Frederick Young Democrats, Burke Miller informed me they are planning to go door to door to share with voters their support of this change.
Below is the contact information for the Mayor and Board of Aldermen. Take the time to either call or email them with your support for this change of the election date to coincide with the presidential election.
Mayor@cityoffrederick.com - Jeff Holtzinger (R)
(301) 600-1380
Mhall@cityoffrederick.com - Marcia Hall (D)
Friday, January 9, 2009
City of Frederick, MD to Discuss Election Date Change
George Wenschhof Bio
As many of our readers are aware, I have recently written several columns in support of this election date change which would result in doubling voter turnout and also most likely result in a reduction in the cost of the election for the city. Links to those columns can be found in the right hand margin of our homepage.
This proposed amendment to the City of Frederick Charter requires the support of a minimum of 4 of the 5 Aldermen to approve.
This afternoon, City of Frederick Mayor Jeff Holtzinger sent out the following press release:
Frederick, MD -- City of Frederick Officials will be discussing the possibility of moving the City election date to coincide with the Presidential election date at their weekly Workshop meeting on Wednesday, January 14, 2009. If considered, the first Presidential election date that the City election would coincide with would be the 2012 Presidential election. This change in date would not affect the City election slated for the fall of 2009. In addition, if the City election date is changed to coincide with the Presidential election, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen elected in the 2009 City election would serve a 3 year term (2009 - 2012).
The Wednesday Workshop schedule for January 14th will begin at 3:00 PM in the Boardroom of City Hall, 101 North Court Street in Frederick, MD. Workshops meetings are open to the public and public comment is encouraged and welcomed.
I encourage City of Frederick voters to attend this city workshop and express your thoughts on the proposed change. If you are unable to attend, the contact information for the Mayor and Board is listed below. Give them a call or send them an email and let them know your thoughts.
