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A proposed charter amendment that would have limited Montgomery County’s annual spending growth failed to qualify for the ballot after falling 302 valid signatures short of the 10,000 required according to Montgomery Perspective
The Board of Elections found that 9,698 of the 14,074 submitted signatures were valid, ending the effort for this election cycle.
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What the proposal would have done
The “Stop the Spend” amendment aimed to cap the county’s annual spending increases. Supporters needed 10,000 valid signatures from registered Montgomery County voters to place the measure on the ballot.
Why the signature count fell short
The validation rate for submitted signatures was lower than organizers anticipated. Moderately MOCO reported last week that early validation results suggested the initiative could fall short depending on the final batch of signatures.
The significance of the threshold
The result also pushes back on claims from some local insiders that the 10,000-signature requirement is too low. Collecting 10,000 valid signatures is clearly still a major hurdle, especially without significant funding and organizational support, and reaching that threshold would only place the proposal on the ballot for voters to decide.
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What happens next
The charter amendment will not appear on the ballot this year. Supporters could restart the signature-gathering process for a future election cycle.
Full update from Montgomery Perspective:
Stop the Spend Charter Amendment Fails
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