logo

Baltimore Sun Endorses 4 Popular Nonpartisan Election Reforms

image
Created: 16 October, 2018
Updated: 17 October, 2022
1 min read

BALTIMORE, MD. - Last week, it was the Albuquerque Journal. This week, it is the Baltimore Sun.  It seems election reform is on the mind of a number of editorial boards just weeks before the midterm elections. It must be a sign of the times.

It is getting increasingly harder to ignore the presence of independent voters in the registered voting population and elections -- particularly their exclusion from critical stages of the elections process.

Maryland conducts semi-closed primary elections for statewide and congressional races, meaning the political parties can open primary elections to unaffiliated voters if they want. However, neither the Republican Party nor the Democratic Party have extended a hand to this growing segment of the electorate -- growing at a faster pace than either major party.

The Baltimore Sun writes:

"Maryland Democrats might have figured that the Trump era would be a boon for them. Maryland Republicans might have expected a registration boost from Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s tremendous popularity. But still, more people are saying no to either one. Maryland is by no means at the high end of unaffiliated voter registration — it stands at about 18 percent, compared to about 54 percent for Democrats and 26 percent for Republicans. In several states unaffiliated voters make up a plurality of the electorate (and in Alaska and Massachusetts, a majority).

We may ever get close to that, but there’s clearly some dissatisfaction among voters with the status quo. It seems to us that the parties might want to pause for a moment to consider what to do about that."

The Baltimore Sun recommends:

  • Open primaries, allowing voters of any party affiliation (or none) to participate;
  • Public campaign financing;
  • Ranked choice voting; and
  • Nonpartisan redistricting reform.

Read the full editorial here.

Latest articles

votes
Wyoming Purges Nearly 30% of Its Voters from Registration Rolls
It is not uncommon for a state to clean out its voter rolls every couple of years -- especially to r...
27 March, 2024
-
1 min read
ballot box
The Next Big Win in Better Election Reform Could Come Where Voters Least Expect
Idaho isn't a state that gets much attention when people talk about politics in the US. However, this could change in 2024 if Idahoans for Open Primaries and their allies are successful with their proposed initiative....
21 March, 2024
-
3 min read
Courts
Why Do We Accept Partisanship in Judicial Elections?
The AP headline reads, "Ohio primary: Open seat on state supreme court could flip partisan control." This immediately should raise a red flag for voters, and not because of who may benefit but over a question too often ignored....
19 March, 2024
-
9 min read
Nick Troiano
Virtual Discussion: The Primary Solution with Unite America's Nick Troiano
In the latest virtual discussion from Open Primaries, the group's president, John Opdycke, sat down ...
19 March, 2024
-
1 min read
Sinema
Sinema's Exit Could Be Bad News for Democrats -- Here's Why
To many, the 2024 presidential primary has been like the movie Titanic - overly long and ending in a disaster we all saw coming from the start. After months of campaigning and five televised primary debates, Americans are now faced with a rematch between two candidates polling shows a majority of them didn’t want....
19 March, 2024
-
7 min read