Breaking News:

ROBERT DYER

DEMANDS EQUAL

ACCESS TO

EARLY VOTING

FOR

DAMASCUS AND

POOLESVILLE

2010 Early Voting Site Selection Process

Discriminates Against Upcounty, Rural Areas

I am at this moment at the Montgomery County Board of Elections, about to testify in support of voters in the Poolesville and Damascus areas. Voters in those areas deserve equal access to early voting, and the current site proposals threaten to discourage turnout of Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Libertarians... all voters.

Read my speech as I am delivering it live!:

*** ***

I’m Robert Dyer, an elected member of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee, and a registered voter.

I’m here today to represent myself, and the voters of Poolesville and Damascus.

It’s unfortunate that 99% of voters don’t even know this issue is being decided right now. And that some races in the 2010 elections may be decided in this room this afternoon.

Examining the State Board’s selection formula and criteria, it is clear they were devised to discriminate against rural areas in Montgomery County, and statewide. Agricultural areas are, by nature, low density, and underserved by transit. Farms are large, and septic systems require lower density residential areas.

5 sites is an arbitrary number. What is magic about the number 5? And if we were to have 5 sites, why would they not be spread evenly throughout the county in Rockville, Poolesville, Bethesda, Silver Spring, and Damascus?

We first have to establish that early voters are a new set of voters. That was the supposed logic behind early voting. By expanding the number of days one could vote, we were told, those who found Election Day or absentee ballots too inconvenient would finally be able to vote.

If early voters are not new voters – but rather, voters who would vote anyway, even if early voting was not available – then early voting is a complete waste of the taxpayers’ money. Money itself is an issue. If the county and state do not have the funds to execute early voting in a fair and just manner, they have no business offering early voting.

Now, the question is, who among this group of new voters will be encouraged to vote, and who will be discouraged? If early voting is all about convenience, and convenience is the draw for this new type of voter, then making early voting inconvenient in rural areas would suppress turnout among that population.

Why should Silver Spring and Gaithersburg determine a close election, and not Damascus and Poolesville?

Why is it acceptable for a Poolesville resident to have to drive to Gaithersburg to vote, but not for a Gaithersburg voter to drive to Poolesville?

I reject this notion that those of us who do not reside in Rockville, Gaithersburg, or Silver Spring are somehow children of a lesser God.

Robert Dyer thinks the voters of Poolesville, Barnesville, and Beallsville are important. This Board will show its opinion of those voters by its actions regarding a Poolesville early voting site. I realize the state guidelines make that difficult.

What will not be difficult for you, however, is to designate the Damascus Recreation Center as a site. With all due respect, you must have a site in Damascus. I’ve been in the center. It is an outstanding facility, with plenty of parking.

The Damascus site will allow the voters of Damascus, Clagettsville, Clarksburg, Etchison, Laytonsville, Cedar Grove, and Hyattstown to exercise their early voting rights.

Another compelling reason for the site, is that a majority of Montgomery County’s police officers and firefighters live in the Damascus area. They work long shifts at all hours, and deserve to have convenient access to early voting.

The voters of Montgomery County will recognize that any action of this Board will, by default, be decided by the Democratic members’ votes. As a result, voters will hold the Democratic Party accountable for any disparity in early voting accessibility.

So I respectfully ask you to join me in calling for a fair and equitable early voting site plan.

Join me in standing up for the voting rights of residents in our rural areas.

Join me in supporting the men and women of our police and fire departments who live in the Damascus area.

Join me in unequivocally supporting the Damascus Recreation Center voting site.

Thank you for your consideration.