Current Events:  Open Primaries in New Mexico.  Why not Maryland?

Here’s a note I sent to a bunch of Maryland state delegates and senators.  If you want Open Primaries in Maryland, you might consider doing the same.

Like in Maryland, a little over 1 out of 5 New Mexico voters are unaffiliated.  Like in Maryland, Democrats hold the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.  Like in Maryland, primary elections in New Mexico are often pivotal in determining election outcomes.  

 

Unlike in Maryland, New Mexico just enacted legislation that will allow unaffiliated voters — those not registered with any political party — to participate in major-party primary elections without changing their unaffiliated status. 

This change is set to take effect for the 2026 election cycle.  Here’s how New Mexico’s partially open primaries will function:

• • Unaffiliated Voters’ Participation: Registered voters who have no party affiliation can choose to vote in the primary of any major party (Democratic, Republican, or Libertarian) without altering their independent status.  

• • Registered Party Members: Voters who are registered with a specific political party are permitted to vote only in their respective party’s primary and cannot participate in another party’s primary.  

• • Crossover Voting Prohibited: The law maintains a prohibition on “crossover voting,” meaning that registered members of one party cannot vote in the primaries of another party.  

What motivated Democrats in New Mexico to support Open Primaries?  ChatGPT says New Mexico Democrats who supported the shift to partially open primaries were motivated by several key factors:

1.    Expanding Voter Participation: A major motivation was the desire to include more voters in the democratic process—especially the growing number of unaffiliated or independent voters, who make up about 23% of the state’s electorate. Many Democratic lawmakers saw this as a way to ensure that more voices are heard in primaries, which often determine the outcome of elections in heavily partisan districts.

2.    Promoting Inclusivity and Fairness: Supporters argued that allowing independents to vote in primaries increases fairness, as taxpayers fund these elections, but not all taxpayers could participate under a closed system.

3.    Addressing Voter Disengagement: There was concern that closed primaries contributed to voter apathy among independents, who may feel excluded from a key stage of the election process. Opening primaries was seen as a step toward re-engaging these voters.

4.    Democratic Principles: Some lawmakers framed the change as consistent with broader democratic values—making elections more open and representative.

5.    Trends in Other States: Nationally, there has been growing momentum toward more inclusive primary systems, and some New Mexico Democrats were influenced by these broader electoral reform trends.

It strikes me that all the same forces and values are … or should be … at work among Maryland’s Democratic legislators.  It is a case of putting voters … all voters … ahead of party.

I urge you to make implementing Open Primaries in Maryland one of your priorities in the upcoming year.   (Personally, I favor fully Open Primaries where all registered voters could vote for the candidate of their choice in each contest … sometimes the Democrat, sometimes the Republican … just like we do in the general election.)

Pls let me know if you would like to meet to discuss how we might work together to make progress.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank you for all you hard work in the recently completed legislative session.  It must have been grueling and inevitably gratifying, disappointing, and frustrating.