Evening star., 1944-11-02

The drafters of the charter
planned TO kill the tWo-party system
as far as the jurisdiction of this
pending charter allows The charter
requires that candidates for County
Council appear on the ballot in
! alphabetical order and without
party designation. The continuation
Of this requirement in the other
counties, cities and States of the
Nation would eleminate the two
party system.
But consider for a moment where
these candidates for County Council
will appear in the actual voting Re-
member that they are the only in
/ dividualS connected with the char
/ ter government, should the charter
win. the Montgomery County voters
will be allowed to vote for in the
future The candidates for County
Council will appear on the voting
machine in the gubernatorial cleo
ton every fourth year along with
the party candidates for l6 State
and county constitutional Offices
from Governor through county sur
Iveyor. plus the party candidates for
Congress
This arrangement for the election
of Councilmen by the terms of the
charter itself certainly does not re-
move them very far from the scene
of elections held under the party
system. but even at that the charter
does do it's level best to end the
two party system in county cleo
| tions.
Under the present plan of county
| government every four years all
candidates for county Office are
nominated in direct county primary
elections participated in by the
duly registered voters of the party
in question. Any voter may file as
a candidate for any county nomina-
ton for filing fee of S25. All
county officials are elected in the
general election by the ma aiority
county wide vote. These officials
may be elected on the party ticket
or may run as fusion ticket or as
an independent ticket or as indie
pendent candidates. In 1884 a fu-
sion ticket ran and won in Mont
gomery County.
These regular quadrenniel pri-
mary and general elections give the
people of Montgomery County a
total chance to change each and
every county official or to re-elect
any county official whose record
they support These elections offer
complete opportunity to destroy
the leadership of any political party
faction or individual in Montgomery
County.
! The Brookings report said about
Montgomery County elections
Honest and efficient elections are
Of vital Importance. Fortunately
this survey has found no evidences
of corruption"
The Brookings report also recon-
mended the continued use by the
county of voting machines, which
has been done. Montgomery Coun-
ty is the only Maryland county In
which voting machines are in use.
The charter plan of holding cleo
tions apparently distrusts the indi-
vidual voter and so removes from
him the right to elect any county
official coming under the jurisdiction
of this charter other than the un-
paid members of the County Council
The charter plan apparently dis
trusts the political parties made UP
of individual voters by banning them
from future councilmanic elections
Since the present plan of voting
in Montgomery County follows the
established American two-party sys-
tenn under which the American Ma
ton, its communities, the individual
citizens and minority groups have
prospered and retained their free
doms. why change to the new plan
of elections contained in this
charter?