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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | June 10, 2016 12:31 PM |
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| From: | Representative Jaret Gibbons |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Permitting Independent Voters to Participate in the PA Primary Process (former HB 1562) |
| In the near future I plan to reintroduce an amended version of House Bill 1562 of 2013-14, which will open Pennsylvania’s primary elections to allow voters registered as independent or nonparty voters the opportunity to participate. Under current Pennsylvania law, only members of the two major parties are permitted to vote in primary elections. Per the Department of State’s 2014 Voter Registration Statistics Report, 1,085,383 people are registered as independent, nonparty, or minor party voters. Therefore, more than 12% of the population is unable to vote in primary elections. It is unfair that while all taxpayers are responsible for paying for primary elections, more than 12% of them who choose to participate in the political process but not to join a political party are excluded from voting in these elections. In order to resolve this discrepancy, my proposal amends the Act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), otherwise known as the Election Code, to allow qualified individuals registered as independent or nonparty voters to file an affidavit of provisional registration to vote in a primary election. The affidavit may be filed on the day of the primary with the appropriate election district. This provisional registration would only be valid for that primary election, and will not affect the person’s status as an independent or nonparty voter. Currently, 11 states operate under open primary systems, and 24 have a hybrid, semi-open primary election system. Please join me in adding Pennsylvania to the list of states that offer freedom of choice to all of its voters rather than to only members of the two major parties. |
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| View Attachment | ||
Introduced as HB2234