Advocacy groups like Open Primaries and Ballot PA are arguing that Pennsylvania’s closed primary election system hurts independent voters and are pushing for changes. Reports about these advocacy efforts did not sit well with Pennsylvania voters, as both Republicans and Democrats alike opposed the idea.
According to reports from Pennsylvania Capital-Star, figures such as Open Primaries president John Opdycke argue that the two-party system is increasingly being rejected by Americans. Ballot PA was also reported to have an ongoing lawsuit against the state, claiming that closed primaries violate the Pennsylvania Constitution because they fail to provide “free and equal elections.”
Pennsylvania is currently one of eight U.S. states that still use fully closed primaries. The reports indicate that this leaves around 1.5 million independent voters excluded from the process. Independent voters are a fast-growing segment of the population and often do not have meaningful access to elections in areas heavily dominated by one of the two major parties. If changes were implemented, voters would no longer necessarily need to be affiliated with a party in order to vote in primaries.
Pennsylvania Residents React to Advocates Pushing for Open Primaries
On Reddit’s r/Pennsylvania, local voters criticized the proposal to change the primary system. One of them said, “It’s a good law. The idea is to prevent meddling in the other party’s election. Why should Republicans have a choice to vote in a democratic primary and the other way around?”
What some voters feared was that “someone wants to taint the primaries,” allowing for some kind of political manipulation from outside the party. Someone else added, “Primary elections are parties picking their candidates for the general election. It’s stupid to think anyone should be allowed in regardless of party affiliation. In fact, taxpayers shouldn’t bear the burden of primaries at all.”
Not everyone was entirely convinced that keeping closed primaries was the right approach, however. “Why should a non-party member be allowed to vote in a party’s primary? I’m here in good faith; please help me understand the rationale,” someone asked. Another user responded, “These primaries are publicly funded, publicly run, using the public voter rolls, and using publicly owned voting machines. (…) Since independent voters’ tax dollars are funding these primaries, they have the right to vote in them as they see fit.”
Seeing as how controversial the topic was online, it is likely that the discussion will continue beyond 2026, as not many states have retained fully closed primaries over the years.
