House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Well over one million Pennsylvanians are not affiliated with either major party. Furrther, this trend continues with more young and disaffected voters who challenge our nation’s political duopoly. In fact, presently “unaffiliated” is the fastest growing political identification in our commonwealth. 

 

While these independent voters all pay taxes and fund our election system, they have no voice in our primary system. 

 

This amounts to taxation without true representation, and it needs to change.

 

Our legislation would allow unaffiliated voters to vote in primary elections and therefore be full participants in the democratic process. A more open system encourages greater civic engagement, new ideas, and a healthier democracy. 

 

30 states provide voters with a greater stake in their primary elections than we do in Pennsylvania. Let’s allow voters who pay into the system express their opinion on who should represent them at the local, state, and federal levels of government. No one should be treated like a second-class member of our electorate due to unnecessary and exclusionary aspects of our state law that restrict one’s constitutional right to vote.

 

Please join us in co-sponsoring this important legislation.