Elections 2018: Montgomery County Candidates, Sample Ballot

BETHESDA, MD — Election Day is here for the Nov. 6 General Election, and Montgomery County residents have a lot at stake. Residents will choose a governor, members of the Congressional delegation, and local races including county council, county executive and school board. Montgomery County residents will also weigh in on local ballot questions.

Patch has created a comprehensive guide for Montgomery County voters heading to the polls Tuesday. Below voters will find everything from voting locations and times to ballot questions and basic candidate information. To learn more about state-wide candidates, click here.

When Can I Vote?

Polling places will be open for voting from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. To avoid delays, voters should try to vote between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Where Do I Vote?

On Election Day, county voters should vote at their assigned polling place. Voters can find their assigned precinct by looking at the voter notification card they received from the Montgomery County Board of Elections or by clicking here. If you missed the deadline to vote online or by mail, you can still pick up an absentee ballot in person.

Voters who have moved but have not updated their address with the County Board of Elections should search for the polling place for their new address or contact the Montgomery County Board of Elections. It is important for voters to vote in the polling place for their new address, because only those contests for which voters are eligible to vote will be counted.

How Do I Vote?

Maryland elections are conducted with a paper-based voting system. Voters will cast votes by marking and scanning paper ballots. Most voters will use a pen to mark a paper ballot by hand and voters unable to mark a ballot by hand will use a ballot marking device. All voters will insert their marked paper ballots into a scanner.

Instructions will be available to help voters familiarize themselves with the ballot and how to vote. Voters may also ask an election judge to explain how to vote on the voting system, but a voter must vote alone, unless the voter is unable to do so because of disability, inability to write, or inability to read the ballot.

County Executive

Montgomery County voters face a three-way race to elect the next county executive. On the ballot are Republican Robin Ficker, Democrat Marc Elrich, and Independent Nancy Floreen.

Ficker, an attorney and perennial candidate, ran unopposed in the July 26 Republican primary. His Democratic opponent, Marc Elrich, is a county council member and former elementary school teacher, who narrowly won the nomination by 80 votes. Floreen is a Democrat-turned-independent who threw her hat into the ring in July. She is, like Elrich, a county council member.
All three candidates are trying to win the seat held by retiring Democrat Ike Leggett.

County Council

Local voters will elect Montgomery County council members. The nine-person council is comprised of four at-large members — who are elected countywide — and five additional council members — who represent each of the five districts.

At-Large Candidates

There are four Republicans, four Democrats, and one candidate from the Green Party:

• Robert Dyer (Republican)
• Chris P. Fiotes, Jr. (Republican)
• Penny Musser (Republican)
• Shelly Skolnick (Republican)
• Gabe Albornoz (Democrat)
• Evan Glass (Democrat)
• Will Jawando (Democrat)
• Hans Riemer (Democrat)
• Tim Willard (Green Party)

District Candidates

There is one Republican and one Democrat in district 1; one Republican and one Democrat in district 2; one candidate, a Democrat, in district 3; one Democrat and one write-in candidate from the Green Party in district 4; and one candidate, a Democrat, in district 5.

• District 1:
  • Richard Banach (Republican)
  • Andrew Friedson (Democrat)
• District 2:
  • Ed Amatetti (Republican)
  • Craig L. Rice (Democrat)
• District 3:
  • Sidney A. Katz (Democrat)
• District 4:
  • Nancy Navarro (Democrat)
  • Howard Zuses (Green Party)
• District 5:
  • Tom Hucker (Democrat)

Board of Education

The Board of Education consists of two at-large members and five additional members. The at-large members can live anywhere in Montgomery County. The other five members must live in the district they represent. County voters can vote for one at-large candidate and one candidate from each district.

There are six candidates running for three seats on the Montgomery County Board of Education. Voters will elect an at-large representative, as well as candidates to represent districts 1 and 3. There is a fourth seat, from District 5, but the candidate is running uncontested. All candidates are non-partisan.

At-Large Candidates

Julie Reiley and Karla Silvestre are running for the Montgomery County Board of Education. Both candidates are trying to win the seat that will be vacated by Jill Ortman-Fouse.

District Candidates

• District 1:
  • Maria Blaeuer
  • Judy Docca
• District 3:
  • Pat O’Neill
  • Lynn Amano
• District 5:
  • Brenda Wolff

State's Attorney

Democratic incumbent John McCarthy is the only candidate running in this race. There is no term limit; and each term lasts four years.

Clerk of the Circuit Court

Democratic incumbent Barbara H. Meiklejohn is the only candidate running in this race. There is no term limit; and each term lasts four years.

Register of Wills

Republican challenger Dolores Reyes is running against Democratic incumbent Joseph M. Griffin. There is no term limit; and each term lasts four years.

Montgomery County Sheriff

Republican challenger Jae Hwang is running against Democratic incumbent Darren Mark Popkin. There is no term limit; and each term lasts four years.

Sample Ballot

There are three county charter amendments to be decided:

Question A: Amend Section 104 of the County Charter to remove party central committees from the process for selecting the Redistricting Commission appointed by the Council every ten years to review the boundaries of Council districts, and providing that the Redistricting Commission must:

• be composed of 11 County residents who are registered voters;
• include at least one, but no more than four members of each political party which polled at least fifteen percent of the total vote cast for all candidates for the Council in the last preceding regular election; and
• include at least one member from each Council district

Question B: Amend Section 305 of the County Charter to require an affirmative vote of all current Councilmembers, rather than the specific nine votes currently required, to levy a tax on real property that will produce revenue that exceeds the annual limit on property tax revenue set in that section.

Question C: Amend Section 401 of the County Charter to permit each Councilmember to have one or more aides as non-merit employees, rather than the one confidential aide currently permitted.

Check out the official ballot for Montgomery County below:

More updates may follow.

Image via Shutterstock

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