For Maryland’s primary election, held at the polls on June 24 but in early voting before that, very few people showed up to vote.
Len Lazarick, who serves as editor and publisher for Maryland Reporter.com, posted the following comment, suggesting it might improve the turnout if everyone, not just party-affiliated voters, could vote in the party primaries:
If we’re going to wind up with a Democratic governor most of the time, let everybody help choose which Democrat that might be, not just 12% of the registered voters (about 10% of those 18 and over eligible to vote) as happened Tuesday, and pretend that “the people” have spoken.
The primaries are open to all registered voters in Illinois, and after the higher income taxes, not being able to vote in the gubernatorial primary election was the next biggest culture shock for me when I moved from Chicago to Baltimore eight years ago.
I agree with Mr Lazarick. One of my good friends, a Republican, told me she thought her vote for governor was cast in vain, since a Republican couldn’t get elected governor in Maryland, one of the bluest of the blue states. So, as Mr Lazarick reasons, since a Democrat is going to win anyway, why not allow all the people to have a say in choosing the Democratic nominee for governor, rather than giving only a low turnout of “affiliated” Democrats a voice? That is, the Democratic primary is, for all intents and purposes, the gubernatorial election, so it would make sense that all citizens of the state could have a vote in it if they should choose to avail themselves of that right.
I usually vote Democratic, but lately, as in the last 15 years, I’m not so sure. As a result, I haven’t declared an affiliation with any political party here in Maryland, and I think several of my friends have taken a similar approach to their voter’s registration. As a result, I really don’t have a voice in the election of Maryland’s next governor and have completely disengaged from the political process. That’s good for journalistic neutrality, but it’s a bit disappointing to me as a citizen.
I’m not sure why the state uses a closed primary election (maybe someone can email me). But whatever the reason, the effect is a disengaged electorate. Mr Lazarick indicates that there are about 660,000 registered but unaffiliated voters in Maryland. None of these people can participate in the party primaries, and that’s wrong. The governor of a state plays a huge role in the operation of the public schools, perhaps more so than the president, and I would like to have a voice in electing him or her.
