Opinion: Get prepped for the upcoming election season

League of Women Voters of Montgomery County offers nonpartisanship analysis of 2024 campaign progress

January 19, 2024 4:00 p.m.

Remember “alternative facts”? Seems a bit quaint these days, doesn’t it? Sadly, today’s reality is that we are seeing a wholesale rewriting of history and a tsunami of election misinformation. And our prediction is that it is going to get worse.

Yet there is one place where information is untainted by partisanship and opinion — and that is the election information compiled and published by the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County. We know that voters need to understand the voting process to feel comfortable when entering the voting booth. Familiarity with ballot box issues and candidates boosts turnout and encourages personal investment in our democratic system.

This spring, the league will distribute the 2024 edition of its highly respected Voters’ Guide, a compendium of information on candidates and issues in the upcoming May 14 primaries in the county.

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The guide will be available free through public libraries, locales around the community, and via the U.S. mail upon request. Also coming: an updated Vote411.org, an online resource that details positions of candidates and offers information on issues appearing on the ballot. Both will be available on the league’s website. Taken together, these information resources are invaluable and trusted sources voters turn to in order to be informed and educated.

Why is it important to prepare and vote in the May primaries? Because they are “closed,” meaning voters can only cast ballots for candidates of the political party in which they are registered.

As a result, in Montgomery County, Democratic primary winners usually go on to win the general election due to the overwhelming Democratic registration in the county. Consequently, the primaries attract numerous candidates with different political affiliations and positions in the hope that they will come out on top and gain momentum as they go into the general election.

If you are not registered with a political party or wish to change your party affiliation so as to vote for a candidate of a different party, you must do so by April 23. This can be done online by going to: voterservices.elections.maryland.gov/OnlineVoterRegistration.

Please note: if you are registered as an independent, you can still — but only — vote for candidates running for seats on the Montgomery County Board of Education.

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The League of Women Voters is renowned for its nonpartisanship and integrity. As a 104-year-young volunteer organization, its policy decisions are arrived at by consensus, rather than handed down by leadership and therefore result from in-depth study and discussion by members, and consensus agreement to move forward. Once arrived at, such policy decisions are incorporated into testimony, writings, and presentations, and reflect a solid and broad-based agreement among League members.

The League’s battle cry – Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy – lives through the work of its volunteers as voter registrars, educators and election judges. We encourage all those wanting to make an impact in the coming election year to work with us in ensuring election integrity, informing and educating voters and encouraging active participation.

Susan Albertine is the president of the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County Maryland.

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