Author: Emily Maurer
Guide to Safe Voting in the DMV
The election in November will be one of the most important in American history. Our nation is facing multiple crises that are testing our democracy and rarely has it been more important that we exercise our hard-earned right to vote. We want to make sure that you have all the information necessary to ensure your vote is counted this November! Scroll for voting information in DC, Virginia, and Maryland.
If you live in DC, you do not need to request a ballot.
- If you are a registered voter, you will receive a ballot. Check your registration here to ensure the listed address is correct.
- If you would prefer to drop your ballot in an official dropbox rather than mail it, you can see a list of locations here.
- If you wish to vote early in-person from October 27th-November 2nd. A list of early voting centers is available here.
- If you wish to vote in-person on election day, a list of polling places is available here.
- Any other information you might need to vote in DC can be found at dcboe.org. All of this information is available in Spanish here.
If you live in Maryland, you must request a mail-in ballot if you wish to vote by mail, which you can do online here.
- You must request your ballot by October 20th. All Marylanders will autonatically receive a mail-in ballot application, but not a mail-in ballot.
- If you do not want to mail your ballot, a list of ballot drop boxes will be available here once locations are finalized.
- Early voting in Maryland will take place from October 26th-November 2nd from 7am-8pm and the list of early voting locations will be here once they are finalized.
- If you wish to vote in-person on election day, you will receive a mailing in October telling you where you can do so, as not all polling places will be open.
- All Maryland voting information can be found on elections.maryland.gov. This information is also available in Spanish here.
If you live in Virginia, you must request a mail-in ballot if you wish to vote by mail, which you can do so here. You must request your ballot by 5pm on October 23rd.
- If you don’t want to mail your ballot, you can drop it off at your local elections office. If it is your first time voting in a federal election in Virginia, you must include a scanned copy of your ID with your ballot application.
- Early voting in Virginia will take place from September 18th to October 31st at your local elections office. Find the location of your elections office here. You must present a valid form of ID when voting in-person. A list of valid IDs can be found here.
- All usual polling places will be open on Election Day. To find your polling place, click here.
- All Virginia voting information can be found on elections.virginia.gov. This information is also available in Spanish here.
Whichever method you choose to cast your ballot, mark the appropriate date on your calendar and exercise your right to vote! Please continue to stay safe and healthy.
Sign-on Letter to the Montgomery Planning Board Re: Thrive 2050 Outreach
August 12th, 2020
Dear Montgomery Planning Board,
The coalition of organizations and individuals undersigned request additional outreach activities for the upcoming release of the working draft plan of Thrive Montgomery 2050. Many of our organizations have worked with the planning staff and have seen their diligent and innovative ways of conducting outreach during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, community leaders and organizations working with highly impacted communities see an interest and a need to take additional action in order to fully engage all communities. The communities of color that have been the most affected by COVID-19 in our county are the same communities where more Thrive 2050 outreach is needed, and comments are missing.
It is our understanding that the Montgomery Planning Department intends to release the working draft plan of Thrive Montgomery 2050 on September 24th, hold a Planning Board review meeting on October 1st, hold a public hearing on November 19th, and maybe allow the public to submit comments until two weeks after the public hearing.1 We propose the following extensions, recommendations, and additional outreach strategies.
• A working draft in both English and Spanish least 30 days before the November public hearing.
• We ask for a second public hearing that is scheduled 30 to 45 days after the working draft plan has been released in Spanish.
• Create more live multi-bilingual / bilingual outreach opportunities to have bilingual discussions between community members and planners on all sections of the working draft plan.
• Conduct in-person outreach that is safe, outdoors, and physically distant, such as at food distribution centers/ hubs and at parks across the county.
• Create and simultaneously release one-page multilingual informational fact sheets that highlight key sections and points of the working draft plan. Additionally work closely with community organizers to disseminate information and conduct community outreach on the working draft plan.
We appreciate and thank the Planning Board for the opportunity to provide feedback on the working draft plan. We look forward to continuing to be partners in the Thrive 2050 conversation and find new and innovative ways to conduct outreach.
1 Thrive 2050 Public Comment Timeline. (Last Updated on August 4th, 2020). Available from: https://montgomeryplanning.org/planning/master-plan-list/general-plans/thrive-montgomery-2050/
Sincerely,
Denisse Guitarra
Maryland Conservation Advocate
Audubon Naturalist Society
RELEASE: Courageous Conversations discuss the history of racial segregation in Montgomery County
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, August 10, 2020
CONTACT: Jane Lyons, Coalition for Smarter Growth
jane@smartergrowth.net | (410) 474-0741
Courageous Conversations discuss the history of racial segregation in Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Md. — This Saturday, the Coalition for Smarter Growth will host the first in a series of three Courageous Conversations on Housing, Land Use, and Racism, about the history of redlining and racial segregation in Montgomery County. Over 150 community members are expected to attend and participate in facilitated group discussions.
Each workshop will feature a presentation on the history of discriminatory federal housing policy and an explanation of the local housing and land use history in one of three areas of the county: East County (8/15), Bethesda-Chevy Chase (8/22), and Upcounty (8/29). The workshops are sponsored by Kaiser Permanente and will be facilitated by Challenging Racism.
After the presentations and small group discussions, Montgomery County residents will share their personal experiences of how racial segregation impacted their lives.
Robert Stubblefield, a poet and local activist, will share his story about growing up Black in eastern Montgomery County. “One of the things I hope comes out of this is that the past is never past. It is always present. What we experience when we are younger plays a role and influences us every day,” he said.
The discussion will also cover how residential segregation impacts schools and student experiences. “In Montgomery County, three quarters of our Black and Hispanic students attend our highest poverty public schools, excluding them from myriad opportunities available to lower poverty school students,” said Jill Ortman-Fouse, a former school board member.
Councilmembers Tom Hucker, Andrew Friedson, and Hans Riemer will also share their perspectives on the policy changes that have been made to create a more inclusive county, and what still needs to happen.
Finally, Jane Lyons, the Maryland Advocacy Manager at the Coalition for Smarter Growth, will discuss how residents can continue a dialogue about these issues, including by getting involved with the county’s new general plan update and local organizations advocating for racial justice in land use and housing.
“Many people don’t know the history of how government policy intentionally segregated our neighborhoods, and that legacy continues today,” said Lyons. “In order to plan for the future, we have to understand the history that got us here.”
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The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington, DC region dedicated to making the case for smart growth. Our mission is to promote walkable, bikeable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities, and the land use and transportation policies needed to make those communities flourish.
A big step toward ending Montgomery’s housing moratorium!
Yesterday, the Planning Board voted to update the county’s draft growth policy (aka the Subdivision Staging Policy), which seeks to time public infrastructure like schools and transportation with population growth. Among other changes, the Planning Board draft would eliminate the counterproductive housing moratorium throughout most of the county, while adjusting fees and taxes to ensure adequate funding to meet increases in school demand.
This decision is thanks, in large part, to you! CSG’s supporters sent over 50 letters to the Planning Board, and our supporters and allies showed up strong at the Planning Board’s public hearing. Check out CSG’s public testimony for more background.
This isn’t the end though — the County Council has the last say. They will review the Planning Board’s recommendations and vote on a new growth policy by November. We’ll keep you updated on actions you can take!
Until then, please consider making a donation to sustain our work advocating for more housing in Montgomery County!
Other changes proposed by the Planning Board:
- Developers would be required to pay Utilization Premium Payments when a school’s projected utilization three years into the future exceeds 120 percent
- Impact taxes would be lowered from 120 percent of the cost of a seat to 100 percent, and further lowered to 60 percent in certain areas with high-capacity transit and employment centers
- Recordation taxes at the time of home sales, would be progressively increased to the to provide additional funding for school construction and affordable housing
- Any development located in an Opportunity Zone would be exempt from impact taxes
- Multiple updates to transportation tests would prioritize walking and biking as transportation modes and improve safety
- And more! If you’re interested, you can find the most up-to-date information here.
Again, thank you to all those who sent in letters or testified! In September, we’ll update you on the Council’s review and hearing schedule so you can join us again in supporting this progressive update to the county’s growth policy.
Webinar: Understanding ADU Zoning in DC
Want to build an accessory dwelling unit in DC, but unsure of the zoning review process?
Watch our July 29, 2020 webinar on the zoning code with Mamadou Ndaw, Supervisory Engineering Technician, DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA).
View Mamadou Ndaw’s, DCRA, powerpoint presentation here.
View Cheryl Cort’s, Coalition for Smarter Growth, powerpoint introduction to DC zoning for ADUs and second dwellings here.