Former Maryland State Senator Bobby Zirkin recently sat down with DARS partner Boyd K. Rutherford, Maryland’s former Lieutenant Governor, for an episode of Across the Aisle, the public affairs podcast produced by The Baltimore Sun. Their conversation focused on a question with growing significance across the state: should nearly one million unaffiliated Maryland voters have access to primary elections?
As part of the DARS team representing representing the plaintiffs in the constitutional challenge to Maryland’s closed primary system (read our most recent case update here), Rutherford offered perspective on the legal issues at stake, the evolution of Maryland’s electorate, and the broader conversation surrounding voter participation and representation. The lawsuit challenges the state’s practice of funding primary elections that exclude unaffiliated voters from participating.
The discussion also highlighted Rutherford’s vantage point at the intersection of law, government, and public policy. While many know him for his service as Maryland’s ninth Lieutenant Governor, Rutherford’s legal practice at DARS includes advising businesses, nonprofit organizations, government contractors, and other clients on matters involving commercial transactions, government relations, procurement, regulatory issues, and strategic growth opportunities.
For DARS, a firm rooted in business and transactional law, the conversation reflects the depth of experience our attorneys bring to complex issues that shape communities, organizations, and the broader business environment.
Watch the full conversation and hear Rutherford and Zirkin examine the legal and policy questions at the center of Maryland’s open primaries debate.
Watch the episode: Across the Aisle: Boyd Rutherford’s Fight to Open Maryland’s Primaries
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To learn more about this case or our work advancing constitutional and election law issues, contact the Davis, Agnor, Rapaport & Skalny attorney with whom you typically work or a member of our Government Relations Practice Group.