Nicole Raz
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL)– The rest of the primary season could very well be decided by Tuesday’s five primaries, Ohio and Florida among them. That doesn’t bode well for states, like Maryland, that have yet to weigh in.
Maryland doesn’t hold its primary until April 26th, a good six weeks out from some of the most consequential primaries in the country.
“Political Science research has shown that when the nominees for the parties have been decided there is a huge drop off in terms of voter turnout,” says Melissa Deckman, a political science professor at Washington College.
“Once the presidential tickets are decided, voters are just less likely to tune in.”
So, why did Maryland wait so long?
“The decision was largely driven by when our legislative session is,” says Del. Eric G. Luedtke (D-Montgomery), who helped to decide the date of the state primary on the House Ways and Means Committee.
In other words, he says local lawmakers are just too busy in March.
“So many of the folks that are involved in politics in the state are not just involved during elections [but] they’re involved during the legislative session and advocating for policies. And so that obviates them from focusing on other things. And the other factor that got weighed, is that we did have to move the election slightly to make sure that early voting wouldn’t fall on Easter.”
Luedtke told WMAL that he personally thinks Maryland should have held a regional primary, or at the same time as other states.
“It just draws more attention from the candidates to the region, it gives people in the region a better chance to hear from those candidates and to make up their minds, and to have some influence over the nominating process.”
If Tuesday’s primaries are a slam dunk for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, then Deckman says there will not be much hope for voter turnout on April 26th.
Nonetheless, Maryland’s primary will still have some significance.
“It will still mean something this year, particularly on the Republican side,” says Leudke, and Deckman agrees. “But for Democrats who support Bernie Sanders,” she says, “they aren’t going to be too happy that they didn’t have input in this election.”
Maryland voters will still have a big influence on local races, though– if they turn out.
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