Independent voters deserve a voice

Editor,

I am one of almost a million Maryland voters – 22.5% of the electorate – who are unaffiliated with either of the two major political parties.

I registered as an independent because I believe ‘We The People’ must interact directly with our government, not just choose between two parties that often fail to hold themselves accountable.

Like millions of independents across the country, we represent the fastest-growing segment of voters. Yet in Maryland, we are denied the right to participate in the very elections that often matter most: the primaries.

Maryland’s primaries are paid for with public dollars and administered by state officials. They are not private club elections. And yet, unless I join a political party, I cannot cast a ballot in these contests. This system effectively suppresses all voices outside the two-party structure and tells voters like me that our voices don’t matter until the general election, when it’s often too late.

As Marylanders, we should each ask what the American Dream means if some of us are denied a voice in shaping it. Our liberty begins with the right to participate, fully and freely in our democracy.

In many districts where one party dominates, the decisive election takes place without the input of nearly a quarter of Maryland voters. That is not only unfair—it is profoundly anti- democratic.

In May 2025, the Open Primaries Education Fund, in partnership with former Lieutenant Governor Boyd Rutherford, filed a lawsuit on behalf of five plaintiffs against the Maryland State Board of Elections, challenging the state’s closed primary system as unconstitutional.

This legal challenge gives voice to what so many of us believe: no American should ever have to join a political party to exercise the right to vote. We hope the courts will uphold the rights of independent voters.

Our nation’s history is rooted in expanding participation and ensuring that all citizens have a voice. Excluding independents from publicly funded elections undermines both the integrity of our democracy and the trust of voters who already feel alienated from a political system that does not reflect their views.

It is time for Maryland to end this exclusionary practice. Independent voters deserve a seat at the table. For more information, please visit Let Us Vote Maryland at https://maryland.letusvote.org/.

Sincerely,
Ed Tinus
Whaleyville