Politics & Government

UPDATE: Voter Turnout Remains Low

Ballot casting has slowed to a trickle at some sites.

UPDATE 4:22pm: Election officials have reported voter turnout numbers as of 3pm, and traffic at the polls remains low.

The most significant drop from 2009 to today was at the Villa Ridge site, which dropped from 235 to just 77 in the hours between 11am and 3pm.

City Hall dropped 44 votes, from 175 in 2009 to 131 today.

Find out what's happening in Gaithersburgwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Izaak Walton League site saw 111 ballots cast; an 8-voter drop.

The Kentlands site saw a 78-voter drop, going from 238 to 160.

Find out what's happening in Gaithersburgwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Potomac Oaks saw 22 fewer voters, dropping to 120.

Asbury had exactly the same number—123—turn out in 2009 and today between 11am and 3pm.

Stay tuned to Patch for more updates throughout the day.

Check out our live-blog session tonight as results come in.

 

UPDATE 11:50am: City election officials released voter turnout numbers as of 11am, and they are on average slightly lower than numbers from the 2009 election.

At the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints polling site in the Kentlands, which typically sees the highest number of voters, 228 voters had cast ballots at the first reporting.

That's a decrease of 51 from 2009, which saw 279 voters by 11am.

At City Hall, 146 ballots were cast, a decrease of 37 from two years ago.

The Izaak Walton League was the only site that saw an increase in voters over last year, with five more ballots cast this year compared with 2009: 113 ballots this morning.

There were 104 votes cast at the Villa Ridge site this morning, down 27 from 2009.

Potomac Oaks had 177 votes at 11am, down 11 from last time.

And Asbury Methodist Village, which typically sees the lowest turnout of all the polling places, had 99 ballots cast this morning. That was a 29 vote decrease from 2009.

Most voters who spoke with Patch this morning did not have a particular issue that brought them out.

Some were supporting a particular candidate, others made it a habit of voting in every election.

And some said they were just out enjoying the pleasant weather.

Stay tuned to Patch for updates throughout the day.

Catch our live-blog of the results as they come in tonight from City Hall.

 

Original Story 9AM: An hour and a half after polls opened, Gaithersburg's City Council election was going smoothly, the City Attorney said.

Lynn Board said she had visited all six polling sites this morning and there were no reported problems.

Chief elections judge at the voting site and chair of the Board of Supervisors of Elections Joan More said turnout had been low.

Three incumbent councilmembers—Jud Ashman, Cathy Drzyzgula and Ryan Spiegel—are running for re-election.

Two challengers—Tom Rowse and Paula Ross—are trying to earn seats on the council.

Three seats are up for election.

There are six polling places around the city:

Polls opened at 7am and will close at 8pm. Results are expected to be posted around 8:30 tonight.

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Check back on Patch throughout the day for updates on voter turnout and election news. We will live-blog from City Hall tonight as results come in.


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