Opening Primary Elections to All Voters

by Matthew Thornburg

This Social Action Minute serves first to remind us that we are a bit atypical politically up in Northeast Pennsylvania. While many of our elections are competitive here, owing to a balance among Democrats and Republicans, the norm nation- and state-wide is uncompetitive general elections where one party stands very little chance of victory. In such a situation, often the only opportunity for real choice by the voters is in the primary elections to pick party nominees. These primary elections--owing to the fact the Framers did not foresee political parties, and an expansive Supreme Court ruling in Tashjian v. Connecticut--have different rules depending on which state you are in.

Pennsylvania is one of twelve states with closed primaries--meaning that only those who register or affiliate with a party may vote in its primary elections. Everyone else must pay the cost of these primaries while sitting on the sidelines waiting for the party registrants to decide their choices in November. There are a variety of possibilities for electoral reform to this system, such as the ranked choice voting Maine has implemented, all the way to the unlikely hope of proportional representation someday. However, a more modest reform would be to allow unaffiliated voters to participate in primary elections--so called semiclosed primaries.

There is a robust movement alive in Harrisburg to open our primaries to the unaffiliated, with new bills introduced in the House and Senate this cycle. House Bill 280 and Senate Bill 400 would open PA primaries to the unaffiliated. Those who feel--as I do--that primaries should be open to all voters, regardless of registration, are encouraged to learn about the issue at ballotpa.org and contact their local state legislative delegation.