Gaithersburg reports record turnout in 2025 debrief, seeks guidance on absentee processing and possible code changes
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Summary
City staff told the council turnout in the 2025 city election rose to 6,273 ballots (14.83% turnout), highlighted operational successes and a mail-processing scramble that required ad hoc staff calls and weekend ballot pickup, and requested council guidance on code amendments for absentee processing and plans for a broader ballot-mailing model.
City Clerk Leah Jones and the Board of Supervisors of Elections presented a comprehensive debrief of the Nov. 4, 2025 election on Feb. 23, reporting record voter engagement and operational lessons for future cycles.
Leah Jones said in-person voting increased 72.6% to 2,818 voters and mail-in ballots processed rose 28.9% to 3,309; total ballots in 2025 reached 6,273 compared with 4,497 in 2023. Eligible voters rose to 42,311 and overall turnout reached 14.83%. Staff credited population growth and correction of voter-roll errors (verified by the GIS team after meetings with county staff) for part of the increase.
Operationally, staff said the election scaled efficiently: average check-in time peaked at about 10.1 seconds per voter and the longest observed wait was 18 minutes 15 seconds during the peak period. IT staff deployed nine poll-book stations at peak and an in-house poll-book solution avoided a vendor cost of more than $15,000.
The primary operational issue involved mail-in ballots: a substantial volume of ballots and applications were held at USPS days before election day. City staff organized an ad hoc team that made approximately 685 outbound calls, opened City Hall over a weekend to allow voters to pick up approved ballots and arranged weekend deliveries when necessary to ensure ballots were cast on time. Leah also referenced a Jan. 9 article and USPS guidance about postmarking practices that can show postmarks after election day; staff urged use of secure drop boxes for late ballots.
Leah reported secure ballot boxes returned 1,043 ballots in 2025 (up from 781 in 2023). Staff said every drop-box site saw an increase in use except Spectrum and identified City Hall, the activity center, Asbury Methodist Village and Kentlands Mansion as high-use locations.
Looking ahead, staff requested council guidance on code clarifications (whether absentee ballots may be opened during early voting or only on election day), asked for direction on moving to an automatic ballot-distribution model (mailing ballots to all eligible voters) for a planned 2027 shift, and sought guidance on campaign-finance reporting timelines and potential audio/video recording rules for the Board of Supervisors of Elections. Staff also noted outside advocacy (Vote16 Maryland) promoting lowering voting age to 16 and asked whether the council wanted to study that policy further.
Council members offered operational suggestions (QR codes on maps to verify city residency, school-based outreach, translating materials into multiple languages, and advertising adjustments) and asked staff to return with memos and proposals addressing campaign finance transparency, ballot-processing timelines and outreach strategies. No final policy votes were taken; staff will bring draft language and recommendations for further council consideration.