Independent voters left out of upcoming primary election, two Pa. lawmakers hope that changes

“Right now in Pennsylvania, we have a sleeping giant in our electorate,” said Brett Loyd, a researcher and campaign strategist with the firm Bullfinch Group and a founding partner of Independent Center, an advocacy group for independent voters.

The 1.48 million independents in Pennsylvania contribute to the economy, care about schools and pay taxes used to fund elections, he said, yet they’re excluded in a pivotal cycle each spring.

“So they pay but they aren’t allowed to voice their opinion. This is taxation without representation,” Loyd said during a talk on Pennsylvania primaries facilitated by Voters First Pennsylvania, a group advocating for semi-open primaries.

The story highlights Rep. Jared Solomon, R-Philadelphia’s House Bill 280 and Sen. Dan Laughlin’s Senate Bill 400, both of which would change PA’s system to a semi-open primary.