(The Center Square) – A bill that would change Pennsylvania’s primary laws passed the state House on Tuesday.
“Since 1937, when we passed our election code, during that time, independent, unaffiliated voters have been shut out, unwelcome, put out with no voice, no vote in the Pennsylvania democratic process,” said state Rep. Jared Solomon, sponsor of House Bill 280. “That’s just wrong.”
“That’s not the Pennsylvania way. That’s not the American way,” he continued. “It’s just not fair. We can do much better in our Commonwealth.”
Under Pennsylvania’s current laws, only registered Democrats and registered Republicans can vote for candidates who are running in their respective party’s primaries.
Solomon’s proposal, which passed the state House on Tuesday by a 115-88 vote, would allow unaffiliated voters to participate in primary elections.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Pennsylvania is just one of eight states nationwide to have closed primaries.
A majority of voters in the state are registered as Democrats or Republicans. According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, there are 3,860,228 registered Democrats and 3,635,553 registered Republicans, as of Monday.
However, as Solomon, a Philadelphia Democrat, noted, the fastest-growing voting bloc in Pennsylvania is independent voters.
There are a total of 1,514,123 voters in Pennsylvania who are registered as independent, unaffiliated, or with a third party.
Berwood Yost, the director of the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College, told the Pittsburgh Tribune Review in May that in 2000, about 7% of registered voters in the state were independent. That number has risen to 16%, as of May.
State Rep. Valerie Gaydos, a Republican representing parts of Allegheny County, cited the increase in independent and unaffiliated voters in her decision to vote in support of House Bill 280.
“While I understand that we have a two-party system, we must do something which corrects the radicalization and the polarization which we are seeing with this two-party system,” Gaydos said on Tuesday. “It’s not the fault of the two-party system. It’s the fault of the people within the two-party system.”
“Allowing independents to vote in primaries might once again enable people to believe in one of the two parties that represent them,” she argued. “Opening primaries would give more American citizens-and I say American citizens-a meaningful voice in who represent us.”
State Rep. Emily Kinkead, a Democrat representing parts of Allegheny County, admitted that it’s an issue she’s gone back and forth on over the years. However, she explained what ultimately led her to support the bill on Tuesday.
“But I think fundamentally, for me, it comes down to the fact that we require all Pennsylvania taxpayers to foot the bill for primaries,” Kinkead explained. “And if we are going to say that only the taxpayers that are claiming a party get to have a say while everyone is paying for it, I don’t think that that is fair.”
“And if the individual parties want to start footing the bill for primaries, then I think that we can have an honest conversation about whether or not we should continue with closed primaries,” she added. “But for as long as every Pennsylvania taxpayer is paying for the primaries, then every Pennsylvania taxpayer should have the ability to choose in these primaries.”
State Rep. Jeremy Shaffer, a Republican representing parts of Allegheny County, was one of two Republicans who signed onto the legislation, which had over 30 Democratic co-sponsors.
While supporters often describe it as an “open primary” bill, Shaffer dubbed House Bill 280 as a “semi-open primary” proposal, since it does not allow Democrats to vote in Republican Party primaries, and vice versa.
He believes that the greatest reason to support the bill is the recent loss of trust in institutions, including both major political parties, but also explained other reasoning that went into his decision.
“Many individuals have jobs such as working for the government, military, clergy, or high-profile business positions in which they feel they must appear neutral and can’t register with a political party,” Shaffer said. “Others, especially in my area, are worried about their boss, who may have strong political opinions or activities, and that this would put them at jeopardy in their job.”
He also added that “the vast majority of elections in my county and across Pennsylvania are effectively decided in a primary election.”
State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, a Democrat representing parts of Philadelphia, is also a co-sponsor. He noted that the proposal brought together a unique coalition of supporters and detractors.
“Let’s open up the political process,” said Kenyatta, who also serves as the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. “Let’s make it as easy as possible for people to vote, and let’s do the hard work of convincing people to join our particular parties outside of that.”
State Rep. Greg Vitali, a Democrat representing parts of Delaware County, was one of four members of his party to vote against the bill.
Despite losing a primary election in the spring, he took issue with the premise that unaffiliated voters were boxed out of the primary elections in Pennsylvania.
“The purpose of a primary election… is to give parties the opportunity to choose their standard bearer for the general election. Period,” Vitali said. “That is the purpose of a primary election. You know, I dispute the fact that independents are being excluded from anything. Independents are self-excluding. They are choosing. They are choosing not to be part of this process.”
Vitali also made the case that there a “very real chance” an open primary system would “increase the chances of elections being hijacked.”
A Franklin & Marshall College poll from 2024 showed that 77% of Pennsylvanians favor an open primary system, adding that nearly a third (31%) of voters said that allowing independents to vote in open primaries would make them likely to change their party registration.
“I get this is a popular issue,” Vitali said. “I know the poll numbers, but we should be statesmen, not politicians. We should be doing the right thing, not the popular thing, and the right thing is to vote no on House Bill 280.”
State Rep. Wendy Fink, a Republican representing parts of York County, also voted against this proposal. She argued that “it takes two minutes to change your registration to qualify to vote for a candidate not within your party, and then two minutes to change back if you choose to do so.”
“This bill is trying to change the nomination process. The primary is not an election in the purest form,” Fink said. “It is a nomination for each party’s candidate to be on the ballot in the general election. The Republicans choose their candidate. The Democrats choose their candidate. And in some cases, where other parties have enough registered people for their party, they choose their candidate.”
She also argued that counties would be “overloaded” by allowing unaffiliated voters to decide which party they would be voting for in a primary election.
“The bottom line is that Primary Day is about voting for your party’s nominee to choose a candidate for the November election,” Fink said. “Every registered voter already has a process to vote in the primary if they choose, and anyone who chooses to run for office, whatever party they belong to, whether it’s one of the major parties or not, already has a pathway to be on the November ballot.”
State Rep. Tim Bonner, a Republican representing parts of Mercer and Butler counties, thinks the proposal gives independent and unaffiliated voters more power in a primary election than those already registered with the Democratic or Republican parties.
“This legislation will undermine our two-party system because it will drive smart, intelligent voters from the parties, realizing I have greater influence to become an independent and pick and choose what I want to do as I walk into the voting booth,” Bonner said. “So, this will have a negative effect on our two-party system.”
He also believes it would increase distrust in elections, and seemingly argues against the case it can combat polarization.
“We’ve also heard that allowing independent voters to participate in primary elections will result in more moderate candidates,” Bonner said. “But maybe these political parties do not want more moderate candidates?”
“What about that potential that they want candidates who represent their interests, their core values, who are going to speak from the heart as to what they want to accomplish in the General Assembly and in the halls of Congress,” he continued. “Not all people want moderate politics; they want committed politicians who represent their interests.”
State Rep. Brad Roae, a Republican representing parts of Crawford and Erie counties, serves as the Minority Chair of the House State Government Committee.
“I don’t think we should discriminate against some political parties and give extraordinary voting rights to people that don’t belong to any party at all,” Roae said. “It just seems weird, you know.”
“That person can vote in one primary, that person can vote in one primary, but that person can vote in two different primaries,” he continued. “They can pick which one they want to vote in. It doesn’t make any sense.”
House Minority Leader Jesse Topper, a Republican representing all of Bradford and Fulton counties, voted no on the proposal, but expressed his respect for Solomon, who introduced the bill.
“I understand what he is saying, that sometimes, because of the nature of our politics, it seems as though the nomination process determines what happens in the fall, but that is the choice of the people,” Topper said. “It is also a result of maps, but the answer is not to make a spring nomination process open to those who are not affiliated with those who are to be nominated, it is the fundamental flaw in a very well-intentioned bill.”
In previous sessions, similar bills have advanced out of committee and even passed the state Senate in 2019. However, none have been approved by both chambers to reach the governor’s desk.
It is unclear if this proposal will receive a vote in the state Senate this session.
Gov. Josh Shapiro didn’t issue a public statement following the passage of House Bill 280.
However, in May, he also opened the door to supporting legislation that would change Pennsylvania’s primary laws.
“I’ve made very clear to members of the General Assembly that I’m open to getting a bill on my desk to open up our primaries,” Shapiro said to The Center Square, after casting his primary vote in May.
When asked by The Center Square in May what kind of impact he thinks it would have to open up primary elections in Pennsylvania, Shapiro responded by saying “look, I want people to get out and vote.”
“I want people to be engaged in the process, for all the reasons I said to the question earlier today,” he said. “Your vote is your power.”
“Obviously, this legislature needs to find ways to come together on that, and a whole lot of other things,” Shapiro added.
When highlighting other areas he’d like to see the General Assembly address, he pinpointed raising the state’s minimum wage.
State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, the Republican candidate for governor challenging Shapiro in November, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on her position regarding Pennsylvania’s May primary election.
In addition to this proposal, there have also been efforts made outside of the Pennsylvania General Assembly to change the state’s primary election laws.
In July, Ballot PA Action, a coalition aimed at overturning the state’s closed primary laws, filed a lawsuit against the state, arguing closed primaries violate Pennsylvania’s Constitution.
The lead plaintiffs on that lawsuit includes David Thornburgh, chairman of Ballot PA Action and son of former Pennsylvania Gov. Dick Thornburg, and Michael Smerconish, a longtime political television and radio host.
