Committee Disappointed by Court Ruling, Remains Committed to Responsible County Spending

Court upholds rejection of petition signatures over handwriting, missing initials, and other technical issues.

Full Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — September 3, 2026
Committee to Control Montgomery County Spending
Contact: info@controlmocospending.com
https://controlmocospending.com/

ROCKVILLE, Md. The Committee to Control Montgomery County Spending expressed disappointment following a Montgomery County Circuit Court ruling that upheld the rejection of 329 petition signatures challenged by the Committee.

After reviewing the 4,376 signatures rejected by the Montgomery County Board of Elections, the Committee identified more than 400 signatures that it believed warranted further consideration. It ultimately challenged 329 signatures that appeared to satisfy the published requirements and whose signers could be located in Maryland voter-registration records.

“Our review found hundreds of signatures that we believe were rejected for minor technical, including questions involving dates, middle initials, handwriting, and abbreviations used by petition circulators,” the Committee said. “We believed the 329 signatures presented to the Court met the applicable requirements and should have been counted.”

The Committee believes election officials should make every reasonable effort to identify registered voters and validate their signatures before rejecting their participation in the petition process. “The Board of Elections and the Court should err on the side of giving the voters an opportunity to vote on this important issue.”

The Committee also recognizes the Board of Elections staff, who are required by statute to review thousands of submitted signatures within 20 days. This is a monumental task, and mistakes can occur, particularly when staff must interpret handwritten information and match it against questionable state voter-registration records.

This experience highlights the need to modernize Maryland’s petition process. Lawmakers should consider lengthening the review period to allow detailed validation of the expression of voter preference, and allowing registered voters to securely sign petitions online, just as they can already update their voter-registration information electronically.

“We respect the Court’s decision, although we are disappointed that Montgomery County voters will not have the opportunity to decide this issue on the November ballot,” the Committee said. “We remain committed to responsible County spending and intend to begin collecting signatures for the 2028 ballot in early 2027.”

As a result of the judge’s decision, the signers of the petition have been silenced and the voters in Montgomery County disenfranchised as they will not have the opportunity to vote on this fiscally responsible amendment on the November general election ballot.

The proposed charter amendment would not have eliminated any specific program or required cuts to schools, public safety, or other public services. It would have required the unanimous approval of the Montgomery County Council for an annual operating budget that increased faster than inflation.

Although the measure will not appear on the November ballot, the effort highlights the need to elect County Council members who will scrutinize spending, establish meaningful fiscal guardrails, and bring greater accountability to County government.

The Committee to Control Montgomery County Spending will now regroup and prepare a new petition drive aimed at placing the proposed amendment before voters in 2028.