Regarding open primaries

Mr. Rutherford makes good points about opening primary elections to independent voters (“Let unaffiliated voters participate in Maryland’s primaries | GUEST COMMENTARY,” Dec. 22). But, why not follow that line of reasoning to let the primary choose the top candidates for the general election regardless of party. Let’s say the top candidates move to the general election where rank-order voting guarantees that the elected person has the most support. We could select the top 4 or 5 candidates to progress to the general election or perhaps any candidate receiving greater than some percentage of the total votes. It is time to build a better, more representative election process.

— Larry Williams, Towson

Unaffiliated voters can vote in the primaries

I don’t understand the multiple articles lamenting the inability of unaffiliated voters to vote in primaries (the latest being Boyd Rutherford’s commentary). Every registered voter in Maryland has the opportunity to change their party affiliation. If you prefer to identify as an independent and wish to vote in a primary, simply change your party affiliation to the party of that primary. You can change it right back after the primary if you choose.

— Thomas Watts, Ellicott City

We need open primaries

Former Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford’s support of open primaries, in which the growing number of the state’s more than 900,000 unaffiliated voters would be able to participate, is welcome (“Let unaffiliated voters participate in Maryland’s primaries | GUEST COMMENTARY,” Dec. 22). In order to take effect in 2026, action taken by the Republican or Democratic State Central Committees, which have the power to enable this reform, must be communicated to the State Board of Elections six months before the Primary Election in June 2026.

Unaffiliated voters help defray the cost of primary elections in which they are not allowed to participate. Allowing them to vote in primaries is a matter of basic fairness and a much-needed enhancement of a more representative electoral process.

— John R. Leopold, Stoney Beach

A request for a follow-up story

Dear Baltimore Sun, could you do a follow-up article on Common Ground (“Workers at Common Ground coffee shop in Hampden unionize,” Dec. 23)? I’m so curious about how the experiment is going and where it is going. I was under the impression that the former owner decided to close the shop because of labor demands. The employees arranged to buy it as an employee-owned cooperative. How does that work? Is there seniority? How is the person who came in on the “ground” floor compensated for years of work building up the business when times were so challenging? And now, if everyone is an owner, with whom does the union negotiate? Is it like the federal government where our citizens can vote themselves raises with no apparent immediate repercussions. Is it a true democracy?

— Scott Graham, Baltimore

The Bronze Star issue should have been handled differently

I’ll start by thanking Gov. Wes Moore for his service with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, including in Afghanistan (“Maryland Gov. Wes Moore receives Bronze Star; controversy prompts mixed reaction,” Dec. 22).

Well done, Governor Moore.

That said, I wish the award this week of a Bronze Star to the governor had been handled differently.

I’m assuming the Bronze Star is fully merited.

The governor seems to have been nominated for the award contemporaneously, with the Army then failing to complete the process for reasons that aren’t entirely clear. And there’s nothing wrong with the nomination coming from the governor’s Army mentor and fellow JHU alum, Lt. General Fenzel.

Why then make the award during the final days of the current administration, when that administration is scurrying to cram as many last-minute actions into its waning hours as it possibly can? Why do so during the days leading up to Christmas, which are traditionally “slow news” days, when most people are preoccupied with family and holiday activities?

It gives the impression that this is a stitched-up action by a Democratic administration in its last days, to try to plug a hole in the resume of one of the party’s rising stars. A hole that was there because of how the governor had handled the Bronze Star issue in the past.

I wish I didn’t feel this way. I would much rather give the governor full credit for his military award and congratulate him for his brave service.

I wish there wasn’t this nagging feeling that this is a hurried action to fill a gap that the governor, with his “non-corrections,” helped create in his own record, so the gap would no longer be there when he ultimately seeks other office.

Finally, thanks to The Baltimore Sun and to reporter Dan Belson for a well-written, balanced article that covered fairly the various aspects of this issue.

— Peter Johnsen, Pasadena