Have you noticed? There's a virtual all-out campaign for Open Primaries in Pennsylvania -- led by Independent Pennsylvanians. Get to know them -- they're changing politics in PA!
PENNSYLVANIA INDEPENDENTS
- Independent voters to help Pennsylvania keep its electoral clout in 2012 (By The Patriot-News) Statewide, Democrats still hold a big edge, largely because of overwhelming majorities in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. There are 1.1 million more registered Democrats statewide than Republicans. “But that advantage doesn’t always show up,” said Treadway, the retired Kutztown political scientist. “People don’t always vote their party affiliation. There are a lot of people who are moderates and independents, and they swing back and forth. It’s just not an extremely liberal or conservative state.”
- Abysmal Primary Voter Turnout Was Shameful - Those who did cast ballots shaped general election races. (By Tom De Martini, Upper Macungie Patch) Maybe it's because Pennsylvania's primaries are "closed" to independent voters. Still, Republicans and Democrats turned out in very small numbers to support candidates.
- State primary system draws local criticism for excluding independents, others (By TOM JOYCE, York Daily Record/Sunday News) And not a single one of the approximately 39,000 York County voters who are not registered with either major party got a vote on Tuesday. That includes those registered as independents, as well as third parties such as the Greens and Libertarians. That's because Pennsylvania is among 25 states with closed primaries, meaning only people registered with a given party can vote in that party's primary. Since cross-filed candidates are registered as Republicans and Democrats, those who don't fall into either category can't vote for them… State Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-West Manchester, has proposed legislation that would allow registered independents to vote either on the Republican or Democratic ticket during primaries.
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