During the September 30, 2024 Rockville City Council meeting, two members of the Board of Supervisors of Elections, Robert Kurnick (Chair) and David Sklar, addressed the council to express serious concerns about the enforcement of the city’s election laws following the 2023 election.

Election Law Crisis

Kurnick emphasized that Rockville faces a crisis regarding its election laws. The city attorney has declined to enforce citations issued against candidates who violated campaign finance laws in the 2023 election. According to Kurnick, the rationale provided—that violations are not “ongoing” and therefore not enforceable—renders Rockville’s campaign finance laws essentially “unenforceable.” Kurnick urged the council to direct the city attorney to enforce these violations to maintain the integrity of the city’s election laws. Without enforcement, Kurnick warned, there would be no incentive for future candidates to comply with campaign finance regulations, leading to a breakdown in transparency.

Impact on Election Integrity

David Sklar, another member of the Board, echoed Kurnick’s concerns, stating that the decision not to enforce these laws undermines the entire election process. Sklar pointed out that the failure to hold violators accountable erodes the purpose of having campaign finance laws in the first place. He noted that the current approach could lead to candidates repeatedly violating election laws with no consequences, rendering the role of the Board of Supervisors of Elections meaningless. Sklar added that if the city continues down this path, he would resign from the Board, as there would be no reason to analyze campaign finance forms if the law itself is ignored.

Call to Action

Both Kurnick and Sklar called on the council to take immediate action and direct the city attorney to enforce the laws as written. They stressed that campaign finance transparency is essential to ensuring fair and ethical elections in Rockville. The council now faces a critical decision: to either uphold the current laws and ensure they are enforced or allow election rules to remain unenforced, potentially compromising the city’s democratic process.

Stay tuned as the city council considers these urgent calls for action on the integrity of Rockville’s elections.