Independents sue to open Pennsylvania’s primary elections – AOL

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — More than 1.5 million Pennsylvanians won’t be able to vote on May 19 because of the state’s closed primary elections.

The state is an outlier, as 42 other states and D.C. have open primaries, which means voters don’t need to affiliate with a political party ahead of the election to vote. Lawmakers have been pushing for reform since at least 1995, but so far none have successfully changed the law.

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The issue has support from Democrats and Republicans. But now a group of independents has filed a lawsuit asking a Pennsylvania court to force them into the primaries.

John Jones, a former federal judge, cited the “free and fair elections” in Pennsylvania’s Constitution for grounds to open the state’s primary elections.

“Emphasis on the word fair,” he said. Jones and political scientists argue too many elections are decided on primary day, rather than Election Day in November.

“You look statistically in elections from 2020 to 2025, in the state legislature, for example, only about 10% of those elections were actually really contested,” he said.

 Pa. primary election 2026: A complete guide 

Not everyone is open to open primaries. Republican strategist Chris Nicholas said if voters don’t care to be a part of a party, they shouldn’t get a say in the primary.

“Imagine if you’re a member of the Elks Lodge, and you work all year to make the Elks Lodge the best it can be,” he said. “Then on Election Day, you let those folks from the Moose Lodge in, and they come in for one hour, vote in your elections and leave, never to come back again.”

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