Who really elects the Montgomery County executive?

Have you ever given much thought to who actually elects the county executive or mayor where you live? It is probably far fewer voters than you might think. In fact, a surprisingly small number of voters often determines the winner. Is this what we really want in a democracy?

The estimated population of Montgomery County, the state’s largest county, is 1,076,119 as of this year and eligible active voters number 701,023.  Yet a mere 52,738 voters will determine the election of Will Jawando as county executive this year. That is a mere 7.5% of all registered voters in the county and less than 5% of the county’s population as a whole.

How is this possible?

Several things account for this: The low turnout for the primary election that took place this past June; the high number of registered Democrats in the county; the fact that Maryland has closed primary elections; and the fact that the winner of an election in Maryland need not receive a majority of the votes cast.

But is this the best way to elect the major countywide official in the most populous county of the state?  We think not.

First, how does this happen? Voter turnout in this primary election was fairly low. There are 404,728 registered Democrats in Montgomery County. As such, just 13% of registered Democrats voted for Jawando. Yet Jawando will surely win in November given that Democrats outnumber Republicans four to one in the county. Is this fair to the large number of Democrats who did not vote for him or who did not vote at all, let alone the large number of Republicans and those unaffiliated voters who could not vote in the Democratic party primary?

One thing that could help remedy matters would be, as in some states, a requirement that a candidate receive at least 50.1% of the vote to win an election. Here, Jawando received only 40.1%, with two other candidates splitting 56% of the votes, and all others receiving that other 3.9%. The primary in 2018 presented an even more striking situation, when Marc Elrich won by a mere 77 votes, getting 37,532 votes (29%) to David Blair’s 29% (37,455 votes). An instant runoff or some form of ranked choice voting would be better alternatives in our view.

Another thing that would make the election much more democratic would be to move to some form of open primary system. Currently, the two parties have a monopoly on how primary elections are determined. While there are 98,881 registered Republicans in the county, there are twice that number, 186,393, who register as unaffiliated.

Many new voters do not have the same affinity for a party as both major ones are not particularly popular these days. Shouldn’t these voters have a say in who governs them?  Currently, they do not in Montgomery County or in many other counties in Maryland where one or the other major party dominates.

Although the general election for county executive is several months away, the results are already in, and most eligible voters have been left out. We believe it is time for changes to our electoral system that will make our elections more inclusive and democratic to all.

Editorial Advisory Board Members Arthur F. Fergenson, Julie C. Janofsky, Jeff Sovern and H. Mark Stichel did not participate in this opinion.

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

James B. Astrachan, Chair

Gary E. Bair

Jill P. Carter

Arthur F. Fergenson

Nancy Forster

Susan Francis

Julie C. Janofsky

Ericka N. King

George Liebmann

George Nilson

Steven I. Platt

Angela W. Russell

Debra G. Schubert

Jeff Sovern

H. Mark Stichel

The Daily Record Editorial Advisory Board is composed of members of the legal profession who serve voluntarily and are independent of The Daily Record. Through their ongoing exchange of views, members of the board attempt to develop consensus on issues of importance to the bench, bar and public. When their minds meet, unsigned opinions will result. When they differ, or if a conflict exists, majority views and the names of members who do not participate will appear. Members of the community are invited to contribute letters to the editor and/or columns about opinions expressed by the Editorial Advisory Board.