Baltimore should adopt top-two voting system for 2024 election

Last week, voters cast their ballots in Baltimore’s mayoral primary elections. As was the case in the last mayoral election, the winner of the Democratic primary is likely to win the general election. The fact that a candidate can become the city’s presumptive mayor with the support of fewer than 10% of the city’s registered voters creates serious problems for political representation. I agree with the Baltimore Sun’s editorial board that shifting mayoral elections to a top-two primary would improve municipal government in Baltimore (“Baltimore mayor’s race shows why ‘top two’ is the better way,” June 3).

In a top-two primary, Democratic, Republican and Independent candidates would all run in a single primary and the top-two mayoral candidates would advance to the general election. This would give many more voters a voice in the elections. It would also encourage candidates to build a broader coalition of Baltimoreans in order to become mayor. In a recent report for the Abell Foundation, I showed how a top-two primary could increase voter participation and promote electoral competition. It would also probably make Baltimore’s mayor more responsive to voters.

The top-two primary has already been successfully adopted for congressional and state legislative elections in California and Washington. I believe that Baltimore should consider joining them and adopting a top-two primary for its next mayoral election in 2024.

Chris Warshaw, Bethesda

The writer is an assistant professor of political science at George Washington University.