The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania has had a long-standing position that we must end our closed primary system.

A voter shouldn’t be required to register with a party in order to have equal rights to vote. Yet Pennsylvania’s archaic 1937 Election Code, restricts the right to vote in primaries to only voters registered with a major party (Republican or Democratic). That shuts out 1.1 million voters (one in seven) from the crucial primary election – often the deciding election. Independent voters, who pay taxes to support primaries, deserve a say about what candidates will appear on the November ballot.

Pennsylvania is one of only seven states where independent voters may not, by statute, participate in any primary election, not even local races. That’s wrong, given the increasing number of independent voters, especially among younger voters and veterans.

Bills to open Pennsylvania primaries to independent voters have been introduced by Republicans and Democrats in legislative sessions spanning a decade or more. Hearings have been held in House and Senate State Government Committees under both parties’ leadership. Recently, five former governors have spoken in favor of opening Pennsylvania primaries.

Current bills, HB 976 (Brown), HB 979 (Solomon), SB 400 (Laughlin) would open Pennsylvania primaries to independent voters who would be newly enfranchised to vote in primary elections, with the option to use one or the other major-party ballot. Registered Republicans and Democrats would continue to vote on a party-specific ballot. The bills would not affect party-officer elections, as these are not primaries and as clarified by amendments to HBs 976 and 979. The bills do not address the separate matter of candidates’ ballot access.

HBs 976 and 979 were recently voted out of the House State Government Committee. We now need passage by the full House. And, we need a vote in the Senate, such as that in 2019 when similar legislation passed with only eight nay votes! Let’s pass legislation this session so that changes can be implemented in time for the 2025 municipal election. A majority of voters want this change.

Parties are coming to realize that a bigger tent is needed and that engaging with more voters is good for parties and good for governance. Fill out the form on the right to encourage your legislators to support open primaries in PA.