Database Error Leaves nearly 1,000 Rockville Voters Without Ballots
Due to reporting errors, the City of Rockville has suspended the ballot tracking system for the imminent election. Several voters lodged complaints with the Board of Supervisors of Elections in Rockville, stating they were notified via email that their votes had been cast, despite physically holding their ballots. David Sklar, a board member of BOSE, relayed an incident where a voter received an email alert that his ballot was en route for delivery, and within five minutes, another email confirmed the receipt of his voted ballot at the election office, even though the ballot was still in the voter’s possession. This incident raised concerns about potential election fraud.
At the Board of Supervisors of Elections’ (BOSE) meeting on Thursday, October 26, 2023, Chair Robert Kurnick acknowledged the severity of the issue, “Rather than trying to ascertain what should have happened, I think what we have to tell people is that the system was flawed in several respects. We’re sorry but it’s Taylor’s system….The whole point of this is to confirm voter confidence and it’s doing the opposite….It’s really bad.” Officially on the City’s website it’s described as an “unexpected issue technology affecting the ballot tracking system,” but there’s more happening behind the scenes. Turns out nearly 1,000 voters in Rockville did not receive ballots for the upcoming Mayor and Council election due to an error in the voter database.
The Taylor Corporation (no relation to City Clerk Sara Taylor-Ferrell) is a private company that manages the packaging and mailing of Rockville’s ballots but is largely invisible to voters. Although the ballot voters received in the mail has the return address of the City Clerk’s Office, it was mailed from another address and Taylor’s name does not appear on the materials. The State of Maryland uses Taylor for processing other government documents and the City of Rockville hired Taylor to package and mail the ballots this year.
The process is confusing but according to BOSE Chair Robert Kurnick, the “State of Maryland Board of Elections provides names and addresses to the Taylor Corporation, and they send out the ballot. In the last election, Maryland permitted voters to get delivery of their ballots online, so when the State of Maryland provided the name and addresses to Taylor, it would have a name and an address but for some people, it had a name and a ‘web delivery.’ So Taylor did not have addresses for those people, who in the last election, asked to have their ballots delivered online…of which there are hundreds.” The City Clerk stated it was about 800-900 ballots that were not mailed due to missing addresses in the State’s voter database. The City Clerk discovered the error when she received a copy of the database earlier this week.
The City Clerk is in the process of mailing the missing ballots and BOSE has prepared a statement for the Mayor and Council and the candidates for the upcoming election (see below), along with a message on the City’s website that noted, “This technical issue has not affected the integrity of the city’s election process. This issue affected only the ability of voters to track their ballots through the United States Postal Service. The issue had no effect on the actual delivery of ballots.” No mention of the missing ballots, alas.
The City Clerk also mentioned that a couple of thousand ballots have already been received and will be sent to the Montgomery County Board of Elections for processing. Ballots received will be posted on the City website starting on November 1; ballots are not counted until the polls close on Election Day.
Please remember to vote early by mail. Ballots must be received by (NOT mailed to) the City of Rockville by 8 pm on November 7. If you’re running late, two outdoor drop boxes are located at City Hall and Montrose Community Center. Four indoor drop boxes are located at the Senior Center, Lincoln Park Community Center, Twinbrook Community Center, and Thomas Farm Community Center only during hours of operation.
County Gets Largest Share of Property Tax. Is It Worth It?
The annual “Real Property Consolidated Tax Bill” is hitting mailboxes in Rockville and while most residents and businesses will be grumbling about the bites taken by state and local government, it’s also a time to reflect on the value we receive as a community in exchange. After all, taxes largely support police, fire protection, schools, libraries, parks, recreation, sidewalks, and roads—aspects of everyday life that make it safer and better. There’s lots more behind the scenes that we don’t notice until we need them, such as building safety inspections, animal control, voting, utility payment assistance, and affordable housing.
That’s all good but we should also consider how much each government agency receives and if we are getting our money’s worth. For Rockville residents and businesses, the lion’s share of property tax is taken by Montgomery County and the least by the State of Maryland, yet I more often see complaints about services directed at the City of Rockville and rarely at the County. Indeed, for most of Rockville, Montgomery County is invisible even though it’s headquartered in Rockville.
It’s time that Rockville ask more of Montgomery County and ensure we are receiving adequate and satisfactory services for the incredible amount of tax money we send their way. We especially need to make our needs, interests, and expectations known to the Councilmember Sidney Katz (who represents Rockville) and Councilmembers Gabe Albornoz, Evan Glass, Will Jawando, and Laurie-Anne Sayles (the four At-Large representatives). These are fulltime positions with a salary of $156,284, so we can easily expect a lot from them.
Councilmember Sid Katz is perhaps the least active of the 11-member board, spending most of his time at ribbon-cuttings, photo ops, and groundbreaking ceremonies. Even his “Sidney in the News” section of his website is moribund with only one news item for 2021, one for 2022, and none for 2023. Sigh.
Mayor and Council to Choose New City Logo and Change Election Campaigning
At its Monday, June 11, 2023 meeting, the Rockville Mayor and Council will discuss election campaign materials, referendums on voting eligibility, and repealing Covid vaccination requirements. On the Consent Calendar (items approved without discussion) are construction contracts, grant authorizations, a zoning ordinance rewrite ($294,530), and planting trees and shrubs ($393,570), among others. The Mayor and Council will also receive reports on the state legislation session wrap-up for District 17 and the City’s Branding Initiative.
Fourteen nonprofit organizations will be receiving grants to support programs and services that enhance the quality of life for Rockville residents, including:
- Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation, $120,000
- Rockville Science Center, $60,000
- Rockville Housing Enterprises, $52,820
- Metropolitan Center for the Visual Arts, $48,830
- Rockville Little Theatre, $18,000
- Rockville Musical Theatre, $18,000
- Victorian Lyric Opera Company, $17,200
- Rockville Volunteer Fire Department, $10,000
- F. Scott Fitzgerald LIterary Conference, $6,700
- Main Street Connect, $6,000
- Bender JCC of Greater Washington, $6,000
- Women Who Care Ministries, $5,000
The City Council is considering an Eleventh Amendment to the Interim Management Agreement for Rockville Town Square, the a 12.5-acre mixed-use development located in the heart of Rockville City Center, and is encompassed within the area bounded by Beall Avenue, Hungerford Drive, Middle Lane , and North Washington Street. On September 26, 2022, Morguard acquired from Street Retail, the fee simple interest in all of the commercial retail properties in the Rockville Townsquare (RTS) Mixed-Use Development. Although a long-term Management Agreement is desired by both the City and Morguard, both parties need additional time to engage further. As such, staff recommends that the Mayor and Council authorize and direct the City Manager to execute the Eleventh Amendment to the Interim Management Agreement, thus extending the term of the Interim Management Agreement to June 30, 2024. This would continue the agreement that the City will not assess a property tax in exchange for management and maintenance of the Plaza and sidewalks by Morguard. More details starting on page 636.
The City Council is considering a long list of changes to city elections, including:
- Amending definition of campaign materials to include campaign websites, emails, text messages, and other electronic communications.
- Establishing a second vote center at Thomas Farm Community Center and ballot drop boxes at City Hall, Montrose Community Center, Rockville Senior Center, and Twinbrook Community Center.
- Prohibiting electioneering within 50 feet of an outdoor ballot drop box.
- Independent communications and advertisements must include a notice stating that they have not been authorized by a candidate or candidate’s committee.
- Aggregate campaign contributions are no longer limited to $2,000.
- Requiring electronic filing of all Campaign Finance Reports, but permitting the Board of Supervisors of Elections to waive that requirement, on request, for good cause.
- Requiring clear and conspicuous disclaimers on campaign materials stating whether the material has been paid for or authorized by a candidate or political committee, and if not, identifying the person who did pay for the campaign materials, but also including an exception for materials on which disclaimers cannot be conveniently displayed.
- Requiring all campaign materials to state that they are paid political advertisements and to identify the person who paid for the advertisement.
The Council is also considering a series of advisory questions to submit to voters in November about lowering the voting age to 16 years, allowing residents who are not U.S. citizens to vote, introducing a limit of three consecutive terms (12 years) for Mayor and Councilmembers, ranked choice voting, and establishing council districts.
The Mayor and Council are conducting hybrid meetings. If you wish to submit comments in writing for Community Forum or Public Hearings, please email the comments to MayorAndCouncil@RockvilleMD.gov by no later than 10:00 a.m. on the date of the meeting.
More details in the 704-page/127 Mb agenda packet are available at https://www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_06122023-6935.
Mayor and Council Issues Its Top Ten Priorities to the State
At its Monday, December 20, 2021 meeting, the Rockville Mayor and Council will discuss state legislative priorities with District 17 elected officials; approval of 350 apartments in Fallsgrove; an agreement with Rockville Housing Enterprises on 29 homes; tree planting requirements for new residences; revising the ordinance relating to MPDUs, and parkland requirements in lieu of fees. On the Consent Calendar (items approved without discussion) is a letter to WMATA about safety. The Mayor and Council will also receive reports on the FY 2021 finances.
Correction: The Mayor and Council did NOT go into Closed Session on Wednesday, December 15 to conduct a performance evaluation of the City Clerk/Director of Council Operations. This meeting was postponed.
Continue reading →Who Will Fill This Empty Seat? Jim Gilchrist Elects Not to Be Re-elected
Jim Gilchrist, one of three Delegates representing District 17 to the State of Maryland, has decided not to run for election in 2022. Serving as a member of the House of Delegates since January 2007, he’s unfortunately been one of the least effective of our elected representatives. He rarely introduces legislation and he’s hardly made any effort to bring state funds to support community projects. He makes no effort to keep voters informed—he has a stagnant website, no newsletters, and a Facebook page with only five posts this year (three for the same event). Most recently, he failed to take a stand for or against the widening of 270. Everyone has an opinion on this major construction project that cuts through Rockville but incredibly, not Gilchrist. If you’re elected to office, politicians have to make tough decisions so voters know where you stand.
Becoming a state Delegate is a relatively easy campaign compared to running for city or county council. With three seats available, you only need to capture enough votes to be in the top three. If you’re an incumbent, you typically campaign with the other incumbents, making it even easier. The downside it’s a job that requires you to be in Annapolis three months out of the year when the legislature is in session, so anyone with a typical full time job can’t serve.
It’s an important position that has immense opportunities to make a difference in Rockville and Maryland, but with the complications of serving, who will make an ideal candidate? So far, only one person has announced an interest: Joe Vogel.
Yesterday, Vogel announced his candidacy to represent Gaithersburg and Rockville as a Delegate in the Maryland General Assembly. He launched his campaign with videos in English and Spanish, sharing his story and vision. As a young Marylander, a Latino immigrant, and an openly gay man; Joe states he will bring a new perspective to Annapolis and the ability to build strong coalitions.
Joe’s family immigrated to Rockville, Maryland when he was three years old. At 15, Joe volunteered on President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign and later worked for Senator Cheryl Kagan during her 2014 campaign. In 2015, Joe was nominated and confirmed by the Governor of Maryland to serve as a member of the Maryland Youth Advisory Council. Joe has been an active volunteer in community organizations working to address the ongoing economic and public health crises facing the community.
Before running for office Joe worked as a policy fellow for Montgomery County-based Interfaith Works; started Learn It Together, a non-profit to support children of essential workers in their transition to remote learning during the pandemic; worked on the Presidential campaign staffs of Senator Cory Booker and Secretary Hillary Clinton; and was a consultant for the March for Our Lives, NARAL’s campaign against Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, and President Joe Biden’s general election campaign. Joe is finishing a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University and received his Bachelor’s Degree from The George Washington University.
More at Bethesda Magazine and at HillRag.
