In the weeks after the presidential election, when Democrats were agonizing over the results, several of my closest friends announced to me what amounted to a refutation of much of what I stand for: They were, in essence, giving up on politics — local politics.
That’s because, as a way to thumb their noses at the national Democratic Party, they are among the 1,635 Philadelphians who have switched their registration to “non-affiliated,” ie. Independent, since November, joining more than 164,500 city voters who are not associated with any party. (That’s 15 percent of the electorate, by the way, twice as many as 20 years ago.)
Their arguments go something like this: It was abundantly clear over the course of 2024 that Democrats do not understand — or, do not care — about regular Americans. First, there was President Biden’s refusal to acknowledge that his age might make him unable to competently serve another four years in the White House. Then, there was the undemocratic anointing of Vice President Harris as his successor. And, most damning, there was the campaign that used joy to make the case that everything in the United States is hunky-dory — despite the obvious economic pain of millions of working-class Americans, those same people who are supposed to be the heart of the Democratic Party. The result, in retrospect, was inevitable.
I hear that frustration. But here’s the thing, folks: Pennsylvania is among 24 states that have “closed primaries,” which allow only registered Democrats to vote in the Democratic primary, and only registered Republicans to vote in the Republican primary. During primary elections, the rest of the state’s 1.4 million voters who are not affiliated with either party can vote only on ballot measures. They may as well stay home.
This is bad for Philadelphia. Like every single year, 2025 is an important election year. This year, Philadelphians will elect a new (or not) District Attorney and City Controller. We’ll choose the people who run our elections on the ground in each polling place. Statewide, we’ll vote on judges. And in other parts of the state, some 4,300 school board members are on this year’s ballot. We all need to be part of those decisions.
But all is not lost for you, independent-minded voter! There is still a way to put your activism to good use: Call, write or show up in Harrisburg to demand state legislators pass a bill to create open primaries in Pennsylvania, which would allow all voters to cast a ballot, regardless of for what party — or not — they are registered.
“If you’re going to switch and become a hardcore Independent, you owe it to yourself and the rest of us to stand up and say this is stupid,” says David Thornburgh, who chairs Ballot PA, a statewide effort to repeal closed primaries. “There’s nothing anywhere that says that as a citizen duly entitled to vote you should be deprived of that vote because you chose to join a private organization. If you’re going to leave, do it with a protest and a demand to change things.”
Open primaries are closer than ever
In the midst of presidential election hoo-ha you may have missed that last October, for the first time, the State House voted on, and approved, Rep. Jared Solomon’s legislation to create open primaries throughout the state. (Every House Democrat and nine Republicans voted in favor.) Solomon, from Northeast Philly, says the legislature ran out of time before the session ended to see a similar bill voted on in the Senate and signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro. But he has already begun the process of reintroducing the bill this year, and expects companion legislation in the Senate, as well.
The bipartisan effort required not just votes from Republicans in the legislature, but a decision from leadership to allow the bill to come up for a full vote — the first time that happened since open primary legislation was first introduced, in 1994.
This is a sign, perhaps, that legislators are listening to their constituents. According to a Ballot Pa survey from November 2021, 75 percent of Pennsylvania voters of both parties support open primaries — including 70 percent of Trump voters — and 69 percent of Independents said they would vote in a primary if they were allowed. Five former governors of both parties, Gov. Shapiro when he was in the legislature, and Philadelphia Democratic Party Chairman Bob Brady have signalled their support for open primaries. (“Let ’em all vote. If they want to vote, let them vote,” Brady told KYW last April.)
“There’s nothing anywhere that says that as a citizen duly entitled to vote you should be deprived of that vote because you chose to join a private organization. If you’re going to leave, do it with a protest and a demand to change things.” — Ballot PA’s David Thornburgh
The value of open primaries goes beyond enfranchising people to vote. It can also change the character of the campaign. In our current system, as Thornburgh puts it, “A fervent group of often extreme folks get to make important decisions” about who takes office, because primary voters tend to be the most extreme members of each party. You’ve heard the term “getting primaried?” It’s wielded as a threat to party members who don’t toe the line, even if they disagree with what party leaders are asking of them.
Allowing new voters to participate in the primary requires candidates to think and act more moderately, to sway voters who lean more towards the middle and are more inclined to choose a person over a party. This fact appears to frighten Republicans more than Democrats, based on their voting records. (Republicans in PA have traditionally rejected any efforts at voting reforms, with the 2019 law that allowed for mail-in voting a notable bipartisan exception that many now regret.)
But “rather than fearing that, people should embrace it,” Solomon says. “It’s an amazing opportunity to sell your message and get true believers in the primary who are going to be voters forever for you in the general election and beyond.”
Solomon is confident that his bill will pass the House this year, even without a Republican co-sponsor, and that Shapiro would sign legislation if it came across his desk. That won’t happen in time for this May’s primary, of course; at best, it would take effect in 2026, though likely later.
The numbers make the case
In September 2024, there were approximately 32 million voters registered as unaffiliated in America, which is about 17 percent of all voters, according to the U.S. Census. (Not every state requires declaring any affiliation.) In Pennsylvania, there are about 1.4 million voters registered as unaffiliated or other, including nearly 12,000 who have switched since November. That’s nearly 16 percent of all registered voters in the state.
An April 2024 survey from Reuters found that Independents skewed younger than the average in both the Democratic and Republican parties — 62 percent of Independents were either Millennials or Gen Z. More than 70 percent of Independents had no college degree. They were, also, less inclined to vote — though that may be a factor of our hyper-partisan elections. Among veterans who served in the military post-9/11, 55 percent are unaffiliated, according to an October survey from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
“Vets proudly served our country, and many are suspicious of government,” says Solomon, who is himself a veteran. “That’s even more likely if they are told they can’t vote.”
“The one area we need constant civic engagement is local context.” — State Rep. Jared Solomon.
Thornburgh notes that new voters are increasingly inclined to pick neither party, which accounts for the numbers of young people, and also includes immigrants. According to The Voter Project, for example, 29 percent of Asian and Pacific Island voters in Pennsylvania and close to 25 percent of Pennsylvania Latino voters are Independents. Both are groups that Democrats and Republicans are courting.
“In a city and commonwealth where populations are growing and starting to exercise their political power, we’re literally cutting them off at the knees,” Thornburgh says. “Welcome to democracy, but you can’t actually vote in important elections — local elections.”
That brings us back to where we started: local elections. Turnout in Philadelphia for municipal elections, even major ones like for Mayor and City Council, is pitiful. In 2023, we celebrated a 27 percent turnout in the April primary that ensured Cherelle Parker had defeated eight Democratic competitors to become the next mayor; 31 percent turned out in November to officially elect her and 17 City Councilmembers. That’s fewer than 323,000 votes out of a city of 1.6 million people.
But voting is also a gateway. It’s a privilege and a responsibility, and it’s one easy way to engage with our democracy. Other forms of engagement require more time, energy and commitment; they also require a sense that being an active citizen matters. How can we make that case when over 150,000 potential Philly voters are shut out of the process?
“The one area we need constant civic engagement is local context,” says Solomon. For young people, in particular, If we tell them they can vote and get engaged, they’re going to get engaged in local politics and be active. They are more likely to go to their civic association, start a community garden, coach a local basketball team. We need people to believe that their engagement will result in change.”
