Public Election Fund

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2019

Montgomery County, Maryland’s Public Election Fund (the “Fund”) is a public campaign financing program established to encourage greater voter participation in County elections, increase opportunities for more residents to run for office, and reduce the influence of large contributions from businesses, political action groups, and other large organizations. The County adopted legislation in 2014 which established the Fund in January of 2015 for the 2018 election cycle. While many jurisdictions throughout the Country have a public campaign finance program, Montgomery County was the first County in the United States to have a public campaign finance program for a local election. There were 68 candidates who appeared on the 2018 County Council and County Executive election ballots, 40 of those candidates filed an intent to participate in the program with 23 candidates qualifying for the Program and receiving approximately $5.25 million in matching public funds. Of the 10 elected offices eligible to participate in the Program, 7 of those offices were attained by a candidate who participated in the PEF Program, including the highest elected office of County Executive.