Commentator David Bittle decried how as an independent voter he was denied the opportunity to cast a ballot in Maryland's primary election this year ("Independent voters have a voice, too," June 14).
Nothing could be further from the truth. He chose to exclude himself from the primary process by declaring his independent status.
The primary election allows members of political parties to select candidates to run in the general election. Why would an independent voter, who decides not to affiliate with a political party, demand the right to choose who that party nominates?
I know of no club or organization that permits nonmembers to determine its rules.
In New York, a Democratic voter bragged that he had voted in the state's Republican primary for the candidate he felt would be least likely to win in a general election. In other words, he voted in the Republican primary with the intention of harming Republicans.
Why would a political party in Maryland wish to open its primary to independent voters who may wish to use their vote to foster that party's defeat?
Mr. Bittle's second argument, also flawed, was that party bosses arbitrarily rule the parties while ignoring the will of their constituents. There's no better refutation of this view that the rise of Donald Trump. No one believes that Republican party bosses wanted to nominate Mr. Trump over the will of the people.
The strength of the two-party system may be waning as more voters choose to support parties like the Libertarians or the Greens, or declare themselves independent.
But such voters can't have it both ways: They can't pick party nominees if they refuse to affiliate with that party.
Independent voices are heard loud and clear in the general election. If they want a say in a party's primary, the should join a party, not cry that they are being denied the right to vote because of the choices they have made.
John W. Egan, Hunt Valley