Maryland House of Delegates, Brooke Lierman (D-46th District, Baltimore City), after the 2016 Election, began educating herself and talking to People about the Health of our Democracy. I began thinking about how not only our Gerrymandered Districts but also our Primary System itself changes how Elected Officials Govern. Too often in areas where One Party is Dominant, Candidates can and do Win Elections despite being Opposed by a Majority of Voters; and, too often Campaigns devolve into ugly Contests that turn off Voters from the Process and Depress Turnout.

There is a Solution to this Dilemma, though: enact Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) or a Single Top-Two Primary Election. Her Legislation (HB 26) allows the Baltimore City Government the Option of doing just that.

In a Top-Two Open Primary, called an Open Primary in the Bill and a Jungle Primary in other States, All Voters participate in One Primary Election and the Top Two Vote-Getters Advance to a General Election. With RCV, Voters all use One Ballot and Rank as many Candidates as Desired in Order of Preference.

There is No Strategy to Ranking Only One Person, if your First Choice Loses and you have Not Ranked Other Candidates, you have given up your Vote in Subsequent Voting Rounds. Candidates do best when they attract a Strong Core of First-Choice Support while also reaching out for Second and even Third Choices. If No Candidate has more than Half the Vote in First-Choices, Candidates finishing Last are Eliminated Round by Round in an Instant Runoff until Two Candidates are Left. Those Two Candidates either Advance to a General Election or Votes are Tallied to see who Achieves at least 50.1% of the Vote first. When used as an “Instant Runoff” to Elect a Single Candidate like a Mayor or a Governor, RCV helps Elect Individuals who better Reflect the Collective Vision of the Jurisdiction.

She says government isn’t about Serving the Interests of Insiders. As a Member of the Maryland House of Delegates, she Represent All Residents of the 46th District, not just the Democratic Voters or the “Powerbrokers.” It’s the interests of all Marylanders that inspired her Bill. She wants All Voters to feel Empowered and Represented by their Government. And that Starts at the Ballot Box, Opening the Process to more Viewpoints, Voices, and Choices.

In Baltimore City’s 2016 Primaries, where the 13-way Democratic Mayoral Contest ended in a 37%-supported Nominee, versus the Runner-Up’s 35%, and the rest of the Votes divided among other Candidates whose Voters didn’t have a say between the Top Two. Never mind the 34,000 Registered Unaffiliated and Third-Party Voters who didn’t get to have a Say at all, or the Voters who chose Not to Participate because they didn’t feel their Vote would Matter.

While she doesn't t know what All Baltimore Voters think, she says she does know the City Council has asked Specifically for Open Primaries and discussed other ways to Improve Lackluster Turnout and make the City Elections more Inclusive.

RCV has achieved just that in many of the places where it’s used, Empowering Voters to Know their Choices truly Count in determining who Represents them, while helping Increase Representation for Women and People of Color. RCV Eliminates a Panoply of Issues that currently Exist in our Electoral Process and accentuates what works in our Democracy. It deters Negative Campaigning designed to Suppress the Vote, it can Mitigate the Impact of Money in Elections, it Minimizes Strategic Voting, it provides more Choices for Voters, and most importantly, it Promotes Reflective Representation.

It could do the same in Baltimore and around Maryland, “allowing voters to express their preferences in a more meaningful way,” as the Baltimore Sun Editorial Board Wrote.

Lieman says We are the World’s Oldest Representative Democracy and our Electoral Systems at All Levels are in need of a Reboot. As an Elected Official, I work to provide my constituents every opportunity to participate in our government. The time is now to update our elections so that they are designed to truly reflect the collective will of all voters. The future of our democracy depends on it.










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