Election 2017
Burnt out by elections yet? Frederick city is gearing up for its 2017 election, but don’t despair. Chances are it won’t be quite as angst inducing as the Trump-Clinton matchup of 2016.
The good news is that Frederick City voters will be able to vote early for the first time in a city election. The bad news is that adding days for city voters to choose their mayor and five aldermen will probably not improve the usually abysmal turnout.
The 2013 city election turnout was measly 23.5 percent, or 8,354 of the 35,498 registered. Democrat and Republican party-affiliated voters came out in larger numbers, 30.3 percent of Republicans and 23.9 percent of Democrats voted.
Early voting, so far, hasn’t increased turnout in Maryland since it was implemented in 2010.
“Early voting is doing what I expected,” said Board of Elections Director Stuart Harvey. “It’s shifting when people go to vote. In the past election, half of my turnout was for early voting.”
The city will likely have three days earmarked ahead of both the primary and general election.
The actual dates for early voting aren’t yet approved, but Harvey said the city is considering early voting on Friday, Aug. 25 to Saturday, Aug. 26 for the Sept. 12 primary election, and Friday, Oct. 27 and Saturday, Oct. 28 for the Nov. 7 general election.
Historically, early voting on weekends is low, so Harvey recommended that the city include a weekday, he said. Most likely, early voters will be voting at the Frederick Senior Center, which is easily accessible with plenty of parking, according to Harvey.
The budget for the 2017 election will be submitted at the end of December, said Phyllis Hane, legislative clerk for the city. The 2013 election budget was $114,953. The price tag includes $93,953 for election systems and software, training and salary for election judges and assistance from the Frederick County Board of Elections and the City Board of Elections.
As for voter turnout, most local elections don’t fare well, said Stephen Slater, a former member of the Democratic Central Committee and political activist. “The lower the level of election, the less party matters. In a city election, people are voting for the most part for people they know,” he said.
One sure-fire way to ensure a higher turnout, Slater said, is something city officials aren’t particularly enthusiastic about: moving the election to the presidential election cycle. “The aldermen are afraid their election would get lost in the shuffle, but the turnout is always so much higher in that cycle. It’s always beneficial when more people participate in the democratic process.”
