Op-Ed: Military Service is Nonpartisan; Voting Should Be, Too

Dennis Miller, a retired Marine, authored an op-ed in the Delaware Valley Journal where he outlines how Pennsylvania veterans are disproportionately affected by Pennsylvania's restrictive primary rules. Read the full op-ed here. An excerpt is below.

In 2009, I retired and came home to Pennsylvania. And even then, even now, I still can’t vote in the primary election because I claim no party.

Pennsylvania is the birthplace of American democracy. As our nation approaches its 250th anniversary, it’s worth asking: How much of that promise have we truly fulfilled? I love this country. I love this commonwealth. And I believe in democracy—not in theory, but in practice. But what kind of system says you can go to war for your country, yet you can’t vote for the leaders who send our young people into combat?

It’s estimated that more than 1.35 million Pennsylvanians—hundreds of thousands of them veterans—are shut out of primary elections because they don’t belong to a political party. That’s not democracy. That’s a system rigged for parties, not people.

Open primaries are supported by an overwhelming majority of Pennsylvanians—Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike. Veterans across the state are stepping up to say enough is enough. If we’re good enough to serve, we should be allowed to vote.