Pennsylvania lawmakers resume push to allow 1.3 million independents to vote in primaries

Bill would allow independents to cast ballots in PA primaries

Should 1.3 million Pennsylvania voters be allowed to cast ballots in the state's partisan primaries? Some lawmakers, including an Erie Republican, continue to push for an open primary system that would allow just that.

State Sens. Dan Laughlin, R-49th Dist., and Lisa M. Boscola, R-18th Dist., plan to reintroduce Laughlin's open primary bill, according to a sponsorship memorandum filed earlier this week.

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"Many of these independent voters include groups like veterans, who are statistically more likely to register as independents, as well as young, Latino, and Asian-American voters," the memorandum says. "Moreover, closed primaries represent a form of taxation without representation, as all taxpayers fund primary elections, but not all are permitted to participate."