Tuesday’s Primary Election Is Where Local Power Gets Decided in Prince George's County

June 23 is Primary Election Day in Maryland. For Prince George’s County voters, that should feel like what it is: one of the most important opportunities residents have to shape who makes decisions on their behalf.

In Prince George’s County, primaries matter deeply. In many local races—especially in a county where one political party dominates—the primary is the election that effectively decides who will hold public office. By the time the November general election arrives, outcomes in many state and local races will largely have been settled.

Choosing to sit out the primary is not a neutral act. It means giving other people more power to decide who governs, who sets priorities, and who gets heard.

This election matters for every part of county life: schools, public safety, taxes, roads, transit, parks, economic development, housing, and the basic quality of public services. It also matters for the future of land use, redevelopment, and public investment in communities that have waited too long for coordinated attention.

For Greater Capitol Heights and other inner-Beltway communities, these questions are concrete and immediate. They shape the future of Metro station areas, determine whether vacant and underused properties become community assets or missed opportunities, and affect whether senior housing, affordable housing, grocery access, walkable development, and neighborhood infrastructure are treated as urgent priorities or deferred yet again.

Last year, GCHIC wrote about the perils of low voter turnout in a special primary election. Those lessons apply even more to this regular primary election: when turnout is low, a small share of voters makes decisions for everyone else, especially in primaries and special elections that receive less attention but carry significant consequences.

Low turnout does not mean no decision. It means fewer people decide. That should concern anyone who cares about representative government, particularly communities that have long had to fight for attention, infrastructure, services, and investment. If residents want government to respond to community needs, they must show up when leaders are being chosen.

Voting is about choosing the people who will control public tools. Local officials influence zoning, development review, public budgets, infrastructure priorities, agency leadership, public-private partnerships, housing programs, bond bills, tax incentives, and the use of publicly owned land. Those decisions shape whether growth is equitable or extractive, whether communities are engaged early or notified late, and whether revitalization benefits existing residents or simply happens around them.

Democracy is not only about dramatic contests. It is also about steady attention.

• If you want elected leaders who value working collaboratively with nonprofits;

• If you care about how data centers will impact our communities;

• If you believe public officials should be good stewards of public lands and resources;

• If you want Greater Capitol Heights and other inner-Beltway communities to receive the attention, investment, and respect they deserve;

Then you should make your voice heard at the ballot box on Tuesday, June 23.

But do not stop there. After election day, watch what your elected representatives do—and hold them accountable if they don’t perform as they had promised or as you had expected.

Primary elections decide who gets power. Continuous civic engagement determines how that power is used.