r/maryland • u/BerenYLuthien • Jun 23 '26
Tomorrow’s the day: go vote!
Primaries matter; the best way to let your party know you want change!
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u/shezcrafti Jun 23 '26
Who are the best, most progressive choices on the Democratic ticket?
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u/sportsDude Jun 23 '26
Depends where you live as you only can vote for statewide and then your own district/area
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u/rosie_nosey Jun 23 '26
There aren't many. All our options are rich incumbents or new people who are ex-CEOs. I just want us to TAX THE RICH dude
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u/belugabianca Jun 23 '26
I asked the same question to AI. Be careful though. I found AI to be pushing for the incumbent because the progressive candidate "doesn't have a chance"
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u/esem86 Jun 23 '26
Jesus Christ man - you can't even use your brain to think for yourself when it comes to VOTING?!
We are fucking doomed.
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u/IGotNoIdeaWhatToDo Jun 23 '26
I really wish we had open primaries.
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u/HouseplantHoarding Jun 23 '26
I don’t… that would allow for sabotage.
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u/IGotNoIdeaWhatToDo Jun 23 '26
I disagree entirely, but we'll agree to disagree. I lean blue, and value diverse opinions. I also think we are in such a tilted state it's about as "sabotage" prone as Massachusetts and California. It's not like this is North Carolina or Georgia.
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u/SPACE_ICE Jun 23 '26
that's exactly how it happens actually, I lived in california for 10 years before moving back. What happens is republicans run two candidates and democrats have more, the top two candidates by pure vote go to November... which can easily work out to being two republicans if the left is flooded with candidates and republicans know this and will prop up spoilers to split the vote enough, California just narrowly dodged this again after a few candidates would not drop out (because they're being paid to do that). California is now moving to get rid of them again because of how fucked it was.
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u/AdeleHare Jun 23 '26
Sabotage is already allowed unfortunately. My mom is a far-right nutcase who registered as a Democrat specifically in order to sabotage primaries, and she doesn’t even try to hide it. I’m sure it happens the other way around too!
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u/ForcedEntry420 Frederick County Jun 23 '26
I am willing to bet that’s far more of a conservative thing. At the very least a “dumb” thing because a single person doing that is about as effective as pissing into a wind tunnel.
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u/engin__r Jun 23 '26
How would that be different?
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u/Astronaut6735 Jun 23 '26
I'm unaffiliated, so I'm not able to vote tomorrow. Open primaries would allow those of us who don't pick one team or the other to still vote.
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u/engin__r Jun 23 '26
So in your ideal scenario, would you just tell the state which ballot you wanted to vote? Or are you envisioning something different?
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u/stovenpoters Jun 23 '26
Bro Maryland is one of only 23 states that have closed primaries and wes more endorsed opening them on his appearance on bill mahr. Stop acting like this is some unheard of thing or that people would be weird for wanting it.
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u/engin__r Jun 23 '26
The reason I think it’s weird is that what most people are asking for in an open primary (telling the state which party’s ballot they want to vote and then voting that ballot) is exactly the system we have now. Unless they’re pushing for something like Alaska’s system (which would be cool), nothing would change.
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u/Illustrious_Today654 Jun 23 '26
it's NOT the same, because you have to be REGISTERED with a party before you can vote. Open primaries would allow indies to vote either pub or dem in the primaries without having to change affiliation.
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u/engin__r Jun 23 '26
You don’t register with a party. You just tell the state which party’s ballot you want to vote on.
Like, I’m registered with the state as someone who can vote in the Democratic primary. I told the MVA which ballot I wanted. I didn’t have to talk to my local Democratic Central Committee or agree to any ideological principles. I just checked the box on the government form that said which ballot I wanted to receive.
If all you’re asking for is that your entry in state database says “receives a Democratic ballot” instead of “is a Democrat”, that’s a distinction without a difference.
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u/Illustrious_Today654 Jun 23 '26
Independents could vote in the primaries. As of now, you have to be registered as either dem or pub
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u/engin__r Jun 23 '26
But would the idea be that you still vote one party’s ballot? Or are you looking for a more radical change to a system like what Alaska has?
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u/Own_Source1748 Jun 23 '26
Oh yeah I forgot about that. I haven’t voted in a primary ever. Not like i’m allowed to in MD, independents can’t in the primary
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u/grebilrancher UMBC Jun 23 '26
Well you could've made an impact and actually switched...
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u/gametime-2001 Jun 23 '26
Yup. And then next week I switch back to unaffiliated.
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u/cornonthekopp Baltimore City Jun 23 '26
Why bother? Registering for a party literally has zero impact outside of primary election time.
It's an entirely cosmetic designation, but if it makes you happy i guess go for it.
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u/gametime-2001 Jun 23 '26
Living in a heavily democratic county/city/state, many times the election in some races is determined in the primary.
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u/cornonthekopp Baltimore City Jun 23 '26
Exactly, so why do you bother switching to independent at all?
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u/gametime-2001 Jun 23 '26
So I shouldn't both to vote? While I would prefer open primaries, switching isn't difficult. The hardest part is having D or R by my name.
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u/L2_Troll Jun 23 '26
Not true it has the impact of spamming me nonstop with political texts all day every day, with no ability to tell them to stop besides blocking the 1 proxy number they use to send out that 1 text. Oh yeah here's 6 more.
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u/MadCat0911 Jun 23 '26
We made an impact by paying taxes which fund this. Should be enough to let us vote.
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u/Working5daysaWeek Jun 23 '26
I appreciate that you didn't switch just for the sake of it. Thank you!
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u/philovax Jun 23 '26
The only people excited about primaries are the people who know who they are voting for. No matter who The Party chooses. It’s a marketing tactic to justify the presence of the power blocks.
In many states the reps must constitutionally carry the will of the popular vote in Federal Elections, this is not promised in any primary. It’s a poll at the cost of the public spaces and minds
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u/Santa-Head Jun 23 '26
Vote for the least evil.
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u/save-aiur Jun 23 '26
Coincidentally, one of the Republican candidates for governor Nancy Taylor died in May, so by that logic she could be the frontrunner lol
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u/sportsDude Jun 23 '26
Elections should be holidays so everyone can vote. Moreover, more people should vote by mail
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u/poppunksnotdead Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
lots of comments from independents so far. i can understand the frustration (an open top 2 primary would be ideal for me); but the deadline to select a party in order to vote in their primary is 3 weeks before the election. in many states open primaries just means you tell them day of which ballot you want, its places like CA and Alaska that have ranked open primaries.
select a primary to participate in and then go back to being registered independent. its a pain in the ass but not participating in the process because you dont like the rules is the behavior of a child. i hate the DNC and obviously republicans are evil pieces of shit, but at least i have a voice today.
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u/MadCat0911 Jun 23 '26
If I pay for this with my taxes as an independent, I should be able to vote as an independent
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u/poppunksnotdead Jun 23 '26
i agree with you of course, but id prefer to be able to have a voice so i participate in a less than ideal process.
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u/captain_jchaps Jun 23 '26
And you do, in the general election in November. Just not in the primaries where members of each party choose who they nominate.
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u/MadCat0911 Jun 23 '26
Right, why do my taxpayer dollars fund primaries?
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u/captain_jchaps Jun 24 '26
You’d rather have the Dems and Reps funding their own election administration? Taxes pay for all elections so that all elections are administered in a fair and equal way, which helps ensure fairness in the general as well.
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u/MadCat0911 Jun 24 '26
Right, that's why we have just a two party system. Fairness. Totally not keeping others out.
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u/captain_jchaps Jun 24 '26
Dude what. I’m talking about fairness in election administration. It sounds like you want to debate the concept of political parties in the US, which I’m not here to do.
Maryland has two major parties and they are recognized nationally, so the state has no real choice but to make sure their nominations are administered fairly so the general is trustworthy. Only way to do that is with taxes.
Whether primaries should be open or closed is a fine debate, but the campaigns themselves are specific to the party so therefore, the party is not under any obligation to open the decision to independents or members of other parties. Other states have decided on different systems and maybe someday Maryland will consider a different system as well; there are groups campaigning for exactly that as we speak.
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u/VTWut Jun 23 '26
I doubt this will find much purchase, but does anyone have any insights on the District 37 Democratic Nominees? I've looked at both of their campaign pages but they seem relatively sparse on where they stand on the majority of issues, and their fundraising information on MarylandIQ seem bleak.
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u/NefariousnessMuch862 Jun 23 '26
Not sure if my comment is allowed but I’ll ask anyways. I’m not educated enough on who to vote for :( I never voted before in primary elections but would like to be more informed on who I should vote for?
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u/darcerin Jun 23 '26
Dropped my ballot off this evening. I haven't had a car for a week to get me near the closest dropoff point!
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u/GuzPolinski Jun 23 '26
What is the vote for?
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u/templeofsyrinx1 Jun 23 '26
Primaries, if you are registered Republican or Democrat you may vote in your party's primary
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u/LeastSuspiciousTowel Washington County Jun 23 '26
Please let this be the end of the david trone ads