2008 General Election Results (Unofficial)

Here, >courtesy of the State Board of Elections, are the results from yesterday’s general election, for Montgomery County:

(Winner in bold.)

President
McCain/Palin: 105,088
Obama/Biden: 271,132

Congress (District 8)
Hudson: 57,815
Van Hollen: 187,050

Circuit Court Judges (two)
Greenberg: 238,496
McCormick: 242,009

Court of Special Appeals At Large Judges (vote for continuance in office)
Eyler: 259,991 for; 34,267 against
Zarnoch: 249,833 for; 39,329 against

Early Voting (constitutional amendment)
In favor: 285,156
Oppose: 72,849

Allow Slot Machines (constitutional amendment)
In favor: 190,878
Oppose: 173,897

Board of Education (At Large)
Kauffman: 197,898
Le: 94,071

Board of Education (District 2)
Berthiaume: 149,499 (see below on outstanding ballots)
Abrams: 140,554

Montgomery County Question A (repeal legally ineffective provisions)
In favor of repealing: 202,823
Oppose: 114,939

Montgomery County Question B (require unanimous Council vote to raise property taxes above limit)
In favor: 169,762 (see below on outstanding ballots)
Oppose: 169,171

Again, these are for Montgomery County only, and they are the unofficial (first count, or “election night canvass”) results.

Why are some races not bolded? Too close to officially call them yet. There are still approximately 55,000 absentee and provisional ballots yet to be counted. Absentee ballots begin to be counted on Thursday November 6, and provisional ballots on November 10.

Board Of Education Candidate Forums Set

>Rockville Central friend Mark Pierzchala has passed on some useful information for voters who are curious to know more about the candidates for Montgomery County Board of Education. There are a number of candidate forums arranged between now and election day. While they do not take place within the limits of Our Fair City, the seat does cover Rockville so we thought we’d pass on the information.

Candidate Forums for Montgomery County Board of Education:

October 15, 2008
7:00-8:30pm
Takoma Park Municipal Center
7500 Maple Avenue
Takoma Park, MD 20912
(Moderator: Eric Bond, Editor of Takoma Voice)

Potomac Day
October 18th, Parade at 10:30 a.m., Fair at 11:30
Potomac Village Shopping Center

United to Save Special Education Candidates Forum
October 19th, 4:30-5:30 PM
Rock Creek Church
19100 Muncaster Road, Derwood
Flyer (MS-Word)

League of Women Voters Candidates Forum
October 27th, 6:00 PM
Wheaton Regional Library
11701 Georgia Ave., Wheaton

Thanks Mark!

Meet The Candidates Tomorrow Night At The Library!

>Rockville Central friend Aileen Klein sent along a note alerting us to what looks to be the only Congressional District 8 candidate forum for this election cycle — held right here in Our Fair City at the Library in Town Square.

Here’s what Aileen has to say:

Don’t miss the only Congressional District 8 candidate forum for this election period! The Friends of the Library, Rockville Chapter and the League of Women Voters and teaming up to present a Candidate Forum for U.S. Congressional District 8. This will be THURSDAY Oct. 2 [2008] at the library. We will have snacks and a meet and greet from 6:15-7:00. The forum will begin promptly at 7:00.

Meet the candidates. Learn about their concerns. Bring a neighbor. Participating in the forum are the following: Cong. Chris Van Hollen, Steve Hudson, Gordon Clark, Deborah Vollmer, and Lih Young.

Yes, Aileen, tells us that all the candidates are confirmed (barring last minute votes for incumbent Van Hollen), so this is your chance to see them up close!

Praisner, Fennel Win Council Primary

Don Praisner, widower of Marilyn J. Praisner whose vacant County Council seat is the subject of a special election set to be held May 13, won the Democratic primary in voting Tuesday night. His opponent will be Republican Mark D. Fennel.>

According to the Gazette:

Praisner, 75, husband of former Councilwoman Marilyn J. Praisner, whose February death triggered the special election, had 44 percent with 3,288 votes with all precincts reporting. [Nancy] Navarro trailed with 39 percent and 2,940 votes.

Republican Mark D. Fennel, 42, a marketing analyst from Silver Spring, defeated candidate John McKinnis of Calverton in that party’s primary. Fennel had nearly 48 percent with 898 votes, while McKinnis had 41 percent and 771 votes.

The winners will square off in a District 4 special general election May 13.

The Gazette article is a good wrap so if you are interested I urge you to read it for the full scoop.

Looking For News Of Montgomery County Special Election Candidates?

You may have noticed that, compared to our coverage of >last year’s City elections, Rockville Central has been mum on the subject of the upcoming special election to fill Marilyn Praisner’s seat (District 4, east county) on the Montgomery County Council. That’s because the district falls outside of our coverage area. (Here’s a map of County Council districts with the street names helpfully left blank.)

It is a big endeavor to really cover an election, and I just don’t have the time to devote to it and still keep up all of my other obligations! There are a lot of candidates, too. However, I do know that many Rockville citizens are interested. We are the County seat after all.

Thankfully, a blog for which I have extremely high regard has been diligently covering this election and plans to do more of it. Dan Reed’s Just Up The Pike is in the midst of a series of sit-down interviews with all of the candidates. Dan conducts a great interview and his writeups are excellent.

So, bookmark JUTP to keep up on the District 4 special election. The primary is April 15 and the general election is May 13.

Montgomery County Turnout High But Not Record-Setting

For many, Tuesday’s “Potomac Primary” was a very exciting day. >Stories abound of new voters, intrepid voters, and diligent poll workers. The turnout was expected to be record-breaking.

Unofficial results are in, and I have been looking at them and comparing them with recent history. It looks like, at least in Montgomery County, Tuesday’s voter turnout was very high for a primary election, but not quite record-breaking:

Montgomery County has 504,415 registered voters, and 205,305 cast votes, for a turnout of 40.7%.

As you can see, that’s way higher than the last three primaries (whose turnout was in the low 20% range), but none of of those years had an interesting presidential race. The last presidential race of note, that in 2000 (remember that one?), had 184,814 primary votes cast out of 429,432 registered voters — for a turnout of 43.0%.

Remember, these are all primary elections, not the general elections. Montgomery County’s turnout in the general election of 2000 was just over 80%.

(A caveat: The numbers for this year may shift slightly as absentee ballots are counted, etc. It may be enough to bump 2008 above 2000 slightly. But the range will not change appreciably. Also, the number for 2002 is based on everyone who cast a gubernatorial ballot, while the other years are based on people casting any ballot, so the comparisons are not exact year to year. But again, the trends essentially hold.) ([UPDATE: Finally, when I say "interesting" presidential race above, I mean in the primary. In 2000, the Republican nominee had not yet become apparent. In 2004, the Democratic nominee was already likely to be Kerry. Yes, I do know that the 2004 presidential general election was "interesting" to many.])

Just wonkin’ out over here.

Rockville "Potomac Primary" Results

With all precincts reporting, here are the results from >yesterday’s “Potomac Primary” voting. These are the races within the Rockville Central coverage area; the numbers are based on Montgomery County as a whole. They are “unofficial,” meaning they have not yet been certified by the Board of Elections — but they are based on actual data from the precinct canvasses.

For more detail on these numbers, go to the state election board results pages for national candidates and for local candidates. (Note, in the list below I don’t include candidates who received less than 2% of the vote. I also skip the delegate-to-conventions lists.)

Winners in bold:

President (Democrat)

• Hillary Clinton: 43.1% (66,192 votes)
• Barack Obama: 54.9% (84,287)

President (Republican)

• Mike Huckabee: 22.3% (9,101)
• John McCain: 63.9% (26,111)
  

Congress MD-08 (Democrat)

• Chris Van Hollen: 88.2% (89,998)
  
• Deborah Vollmer: 9.0% (9,131)
• Lih Young: 2.8% (2,889)

Congress MD-08 (Republican)

• Steve Hudson: 37.6% (7,877)
  
• Meyer F. Marks: 5.8% (1,213)
• Brian Metzger: 19.6% (4,103)
• Jay Roberts: 11.9% (2,500)
• Bruce Stern: 25.1% (5,257)

Circuit Court Judge Dist. 06 (vote for two) (note: R and D votes added)

• Robert Alan Greenberg: 49.3% (124,518)
  
• Mary Beth McCormick: 50.7% (128,131)
  

Board of Education (At Large)

• Carey Apple: 17.2% (25,876)
• Phil Kauffman: 33.6% (50,582)
  
• Tommy Le: 24.8% (37,260)
• Alies Muskin: 18.1% (27,280)
• Rob Seubert: 6.3% (9,504)

Maryland "Potomac Primary" Early Recap

>After so much build up, it is somewhat anticlimactic to report that Maryland went the way it was expected it would: Sen. Barack Obama beat Sen. Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination; and Sen. John McCain bested former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee in the Republican nomination race. This mirrors our neighbors across the river and in DC too (though in DC, Obama’s margin was more dramatic).

Final results are not in yet; these are media projections based on exit polling. Here is the raw exit poll data.

And, here is a great interactive tool from the Washington Post where you can see the actual election returns breakdown of each Maryland county in the presidential primary races. It will get updated as the evening progresses (and through tomorrow). Here is the main ABC News results page for the Maryland presidential primary elections.

President was not the only race on the ballot. In the contest for at-large Montgomery County School Board member, a field of five was vying for the nod. Here is the results page for this race from the Washington Post. (Updated through the night.)

Meanwhile, in congressional District 8 (the one that covers Our Fair City), incumbent Chris Van Hollen was seeking the Democratic re-nomination over Deborah Vollmer and Lih Young. On the Republican side, a field of five was battling for the chance to run against the Democratic nominee in November. And Brian Crider, running for Congress in district 8 under the Green banner, was unopposed in the nomination contest. So he wins. Here is the Washington Post’s results page for District 8. (Updated through the night.)

It was a day that started out a bit overcast and very, very chilly — and basically remained that way until afternoon rush hour, when rain fell to the cold ground, instantly freezing and creating slick conditions. Gridlock prevailed in the evening rush, and election officials kept the county’s polling places open late to accommodate the conditions.

Late in the day, I tracked down a report that Montgomery County Public Schools, because students had the day off, had not turned on the heat in schools all day (it’s a centralized system, not controlled on a per-building basis). A quick trip out to Maryvale Elementary established that it had been very cold throughout the day but was starting to warm up.

I checked College Gardens, too, and found the heat very much in evidence, but the sidewalks as slick as oil. I also found some very cheerful election judges, pictured at right.

Because I was acting as a stringer for Pajamas Media’s coverage of the day, I asked Rockville Central readers to feed me tidbits throughout the day of how things were going. Here is a sampling:

• 10:30am — “Voting was light around 9:30 at College Gardens ES. I just stopped by there to visit their great Bake Sale supporting the PTA. Also a chance to see the new building! Voting was busier at Carver when I went at 10am to vote, but I only had to wait a few minutes to get registered and in a booth.”

• 11:09am — “Long lines, people comparing it to flu shot lines. ‘I’ve never stood so far back [in line] is the buzz.’”

• 1:11pm — “While standing in line behind about thirty people in my Rockville, MD voting location, I noticed an elderly couple carefully making their way toward the end of the line. She used a walker and he rolled an oxygen tank behind him. I was really impressed than on this sub-freezing morning, they took their place in line and waited patiently to vote. My fellow voters and I offered to let them get in line in front of us, but they said they were fine. After overhearing the man mention that he thought ‘he had enough oxygen left,’ I found an election staffer to guide them to a place to sit until it was their turn to cast their ballots. I’m pretty sure they couple thought we were making too much of a fuss, but all I could think of is the effort it must have taken them to get out of the house and over to the polling place. When I’m their age, I hope I’ll have the same determination to get out and vote.”
  
• 3:22pm — “It was extremely cold this morning, and it appeared to be a fairly light turnout. No political signs of any kind were in the ground outside, and I (as the Democratic Precinct Chair) was the only one working out in front of the polling station. And I couldn’t stay out there for more than an hour or so at a time.”

• 4:00pm — “Lone Oak was not heavy, but steady. The poll officials said it had been that way all day.”
  

Stay tuned for definitive results when they are available (likely Wednesday, February 13).

Everyone who braved the
cold, the rain, the ice, or all three: Congratulations. Thank you for joining in our collective experiment — the longest-running effort at self-governance on the planet.

(Photos by Rockville Central.)

There's Still Time To Vote! Polls To Stay Open Late

Thanks to >Rockville Central editor Cindy CG for alerting me to the fact that, due to inclement weather, Montgomery County’s polls are remaining open 90 minutes later tonight — they are closing at 9:30 pm.

If you have not yet voted, and the regret had already begun to settle in, there is still time!

Go here for where/how info.

Sunny Morning at the Polls Despite Dreary Day

I confess I’m a feeler. Anyone who has done a >Myers-Briggs test knows what I mean. My first take on things is how I feel about it. So this morning when I went to vote I wasn’t too happy about the curmudgeonly ladies in line behind me who wondered aloud why lunch or coffee wasn’t available given the long lines. They compared the line to waiting for a flu shot and sarcastically predicted “We’ll be out of here by tomorrow.”

I couldn’t help but think about a young university student I met recently who had been conducting election monitoring in Mauritania. She told me that a pivotal moment during her experience occurred when one morning she woke before the sun was up to arrive early at the polls. The polling station was a one-room schoolhouse made out of old wooden boards near the only paved road in town. She was shocked to see an unbelievable turnout — over one hundred men and women dressed in colorful robes from this small village were already quietly in line to vote. She said she was inspired by the Mauritanians’ civic energy and passion and wanted to take it back to the U.S.

Standing in my own line in Montgomery County, listening to the ladies’ complaints about no coffee, I realized she had. As I moved from line to table to voting booth to friends and neighbors still waiting in line I was transported to that brilliant sunny morning in a village faraway and a kindred energy and passion for civic responsibility made me feel great.

POTD: Vote Today

>

It’s your duty. Here is what you need to know. There, now you have no excuse not to.

Prepping For The Potomac Primary

While most of the media oxygen is taken up by the major parties’ presidential contenders, our upcoming “Potomac Primary” on >Tuesday, February 12 is an opportunity not only to choose our favorite executive nominees, but school board members, judges, and congressional representatives as well.

From past experience we know that many Rockville Central readers visit the site looking for election information on the weekend before election day, and in case that is you, here is this quick roundup:

• What: Maryland’s primary elections
• When: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 from 7:00 am through 8:00 pm
• Where: Plug your address in here, to find out! t will be one of the locations on this list. Note that this is not a City election, so your polling place may be different than the one you visited last November.
• Who:
• Party nominee to be candidate for President of the United States
• Party nominee to be candidate for U.S. Representative
• Circuit Court Judge (choose two; they are running for retention, unopposed)
• Delegates to your party’s convention
• Board of Education — at-large member

Here is a link to the Gazette’s local election roundup, which has lots of good information.

More questions? Go check out the county board of elections, or even the state board of elections.

See you Tuesday!

Maryland Primary Feb. 12

Perhaps >yesterday’s “Super Fat Tuesday” activities have whet your appetite for voting and you are chomping at the bit to cast your very own ballot on Tuesday, February 12. Or, maybe it has reminded you that there is some sort of election thingy coming up and you probably ought to pay attention. Or, maybe you are somewhere in between and wouldn’t mind a roundup of what’s going on to help you get your head in the game.

We’re here to help.

If you are a registered voter (and if you are not, why aren’t you?), you should have received a little pamphlet in the mail that looks like the one in the photo, which is mine so no peeking. This is what passes for a “voter guide” in Maryland.

The upshot is that, on Tuesday, February 12, Maryland voters will cast their ballots for:

• Party nominee to be candidate for President of the United States
• Party nominee to be candidate for U.S. Representative
• Circuit Court Judge (choose two; they are running unopposed)
• Female delegates to your party’s convention (four)
• Male delegates to your party’s convention (four)
• Board of Education — at-large member

The links above go to the page at the Washington Post that covers the candidates that apply to folks living in Rockville. This is a Rockville blog, after all. But, in case you are reading this from outside our coverage area, here is a link to the Washington Post’s main page for coverage of this primary.

Here is a list of all the candidates: State-level and higher and Montgomery County only. (Don’t ask me why they are separated out like that.)

If you have registered to vote with a particular party, you will be able to choose your party’s nominee. If you are independent, you’re out of luck and will just be picking a school board candidate and judges.

Speaking of school board, one candidate has contacted me with a press release describing his candidacy, Rob Seubert, and his press release (about an endorsement he received) is here. This is not an endorsement of Rob; I would do that for any candidate.

Want to know for sure where you should vote in this election? Plug your address in here, and find out. It will be one of the locations on this list. Note that this is not a City election, so your polling place may be different than the one you visited last November. (For instance, for City elections I vote at Beall Elementary; for this election I will be voting in the Board of Education building.)

Yes, we still need election judges. Really, you should do it. Follow the link for more info.

See you on Tuesday!

(P.S. Want a mug like the one in the photo? Of course you do.)

(P.P.S. Thanks to Rockville Central friend Rich Gottfried for prompting this article.)

Super Fat Tuesday Roundup

In case you are reading your dead-tree newspaper and wondering how the presidential candidates did out West last night, on this largest-ever primary day when 22 states voted, amusingly dubbed >Super Fat Tuesday, here is the quick roundup:

CLINTON: AR, AZ, CA, MA, NY, NJ, OK, TN
OBAMA: AK, AL, CT, CO, DE, GA, ID, IL, KS, MN, MO, ND, UT

HUCKABEE: AL, AR, GA, TN, WV
MCCAIN: AZ, CA, CT, DE, IL, MO, NJ, NY, OK
ROMNEY: CO, MA, MN, MT, ND, UT

This is from the Drudge Report. Honestly, to stay up to date, you should really check Drudge at least once or twice a day. Don’t turn up your nose; it’s what drives the coverage in those fancy newspapers, even though they might not admit it.

Be An Election Judge! Do It!

>Rockville Central friend Christina Ginsberg has written to remind us all that:

We need people to serve the traditional (insanely long) full day, but we also desperately need people for a special position focused on keeping chain of custody for the critical materials. That is, the computer cards out of the Diebold voting machines and the unvoted paper ballots.

Two “closers” per precinct, of different parties (which in Montgomery County means a Democrat and anyone not a Democrat), join the judge team at the precinct at 6PM, help with the last rush of voters, do the shutdown of the touchscreen voting machines, and then together drive the critical materials back to the Board of Elections here in Rockville.

I sure would like to have 10 people signed up and trained as closers on standby to cover Rockville. As well as 25 people trained and ready to serve for the full day. And if we really want to dream big, 30 more Rockville people to make up teams here at the Board in Rockville and go out together to precincts in other parts of the County.

The primary is February 12th, so we have only about 10 days left to get everyone lined up.

Potential judges should print out the election judge application and fill it out. Due to the short time frame, it is better to FAX it back to 240-777-0805 (mark it “attention Christina”). Or bring it to the Board of Elections at 751 Twinbrook Parkway and ask for Christina or Jessica.

Needed for Rockville (both closers and full day judges):

• Lakewood ES
• Robert Frost ES
• College Gardens ES
• Fallsmead ES
• Julius West MS
• Winston Churchill MS
• Ivymount School
• Farmland ES
• Twinbrook ES
• Luxmanor ES
• Tilden MS
• Tilden Center

Thanks, Christina!