FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Andrew McGinley – amcginley@seventy.org
September 30, 2026
Philadelphia, PA – Yesterday, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed legislation allowing unaffiliated voters to vote in primaries by a bipartisan vote of 115 to 88. The legislation, House Bill 280, allows independent voters to choose which party’s primary ballot to complete. Pennsylvania is one of just eight states with fully closed primaries.
“Today the Pennsylvania House of Representatives took an important step to increase voter access and reduce partisanship in our elections by opening up our primaries to unaffiliated voters,” said Lauren Cristella, C70 President and CEO. “Right now, primary elections are closed to unaffiliated or Independent voters. That means that more than 1.5 million voters are locked out of our elections. It’s unacceptable. When primaries are closed and general elections are uncompetitive, a shrinking, more ideologically extreme slice of the electorate makes the real decision. Candidates learn to appeal to that slice, not to the broader public. Opening our primaries can change our system. It will encourage participation and engagement and introduce more Pennsylvanians to our electoral system so their voices can be heard. With more and more Pennsylvanians choosing to register as Independent, our elected leaders must listen to the people of our Commonwealth and end our closed primary system. We encourage the Pennsylvania Senate to follow suit and end the closed primary system that has excluded too many Pennsylvanians from participating in our elections.”
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About the Committee of Seventy
The Committee of Seventy is a nonpartisan civic leadership organization that advances representative, ethical, and effective government in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania through citizen engagement and public policy advocacy. Founded in 1904, C70 has spent more than 120 years protecting election integrity and empowering citizens to participate meaningfully in democracy.