Maryland needs open primaries | READER COMMENTARY
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Gov. Wes Moore gives me hope. In Maryland, there are more than a million of us unaffiliated voters who are unable to vote in the primary elections. However, in most jurisdictions, the “final” decision of who is elected to Congress is made in those primaries because, as Moore said in an interview with Bill Maher in April, “over 92% of these congressional districts … are not competitive [in general elections]. By November, it doesn’t matter.”
That means that we independents have no say in who represents us in the U.S. House of Representatives and elsewhere. This has direct consequences. For example, I’ve heard one state legislator say that if he allowed the unaffiliated to vote in the primaries, he’d have to raise more money to appeal to more of his constituents. Having closed primaries leaves him and his colleagues responsive only to certain segments of their constituents.
Moore seems to agree that we independents should be able to participate in the selection of who represents us. In that same interview, he said, “If you believe in democracy, then let people’s voices be heard, and don’t make them have to affiliate with a political party.”
Earlier this month, Moore reaffirmed this belief in an interview with Independent Americans’ Paul Rieckhoff, saying, “This whole system … needs to be reevaluated. … There still has to be a way to bring these independent voices into this conversation.”
Our governor has a unique opportunity to let Maryland’s independent voices be heard (“How Wes Moore can show true support for open primaries,” May 3). I am a plaintiff in a lawsuit that claims that Maryland’s closed primary system violates the Maryland Constitution, which specifies that we have the right to vote in all elections funded and administered by the state.
If Moore believes in democracy and wants all of his citizens to have a voice, he can help resolve this case in a way that allows us to vote in all state-funded primaries without having to affiliate.
— Dona Sauerburger, Gambrills
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