(Louisiana Illuminator) - I took my first oath to defend the U.S. Constitution when I was 17 years old.
Growing up, we watched the news every night and saw two kinds of stories side by side: American service members killed overseas, and elections in other countries marred by bombings, kidnappings and violence.
Even then, I found myself asking a basic question: Why were American elections more stable than so many others, and what made them worth defending?
That question stayed with me.
I went on to study American politics and election systems at the U.S. Naval Academy. Later, I served as a Marine Corps officer and deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.
Over time, I learned something important: American democracy has never been perfect. It works only because generations have tried to improve it.
That is why I believe Louisiana’s move to closed party primaries for some of our most important offices is a mistake. Starting this year, the new rules apply to races for Congress, the Louisiana Supreme Court, the state Public Service Commission and the Board of Secondary and Elementary Education.
In those races, Democrats and Republicans can only vote in their respective primaries next month. “No party” voters may choose one major-party ballot, but they are then locked into that party for the June runoff, if needed. Minor party voters are excluded altogether until the November general election.
Louisiana has elected its leaders under an open system for decades, over countless election cycles, without problems. Now, for seemingly no reason, we are moving away from that proven model supported by 80% of Louisianans toward a restrictive, confusing system for our most important offices.
This solution in search of a problem will come at great cost, not only to voter choice but also to the public. Closed primaries will cost the state more than $135 million over 10 years, according to the Secretary of State’s estimate.
In most races, the election that really matters happens before November. When that decisive stage is filtered through closed primaries, candidates are pushed to satisfy the people most invested in the party rather than the electorate they hope to represent.
That is how you get a politics that feels smaller, angrier, and less accountable. It is also how many voters end up feeling like their final choice is simply the lesser of two evils.
As a proud Louisiana voter, one thing I know for certain is that our state is too diverse, too independent-minded and too full of common sense to be reduced to two political parties.
Veterans know this especially well. We served alongside Americans of every race, religion, hometown and political belief. We learned to care about competence, integrity and mission, not just labels.
Open primaries do not guarantee perfect outcomes. No election system does. But they do something essential: they allow candidates to make their case to more people from the beginning. They create more competition. They widen accountability, and they give voters a better chance to reward the people who can represent them.
This should not be a partisan issue. It is not about helping Republicans or Democrats. It is about whether we believe the people of this state are capable of weighing the full field for themselves, or whether party insiders should narrow that choice first.
I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution, not a political party. For me, that oath did not end when I took off the uniform. It continues whenever I speak up for a political system that is open, competitive, and worthy of the people it serves.
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Ben Baltz works in finance and analytics and lives with his wife and two children in Mandeville. He is a 2014 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and served on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps for seven years, supporting operations around the world.
