RELEASE Tuesday, July 15, 2025
For further information contact Shanin Specter by telephone at 215-772-1000.
PHILADELPHIA, PA – A group of four independent voters have asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to declare Pennsylvania’s law prohibiting independent voters from voting in primary elections to be in violation of their constitutional rights.
The independent voters – including television and radio journalist Michael Smerconish and David Thornburgh, chairman of Ballot PA Action -- are asking the court to rule that Section 2812 of the Election Code, which allows only registered members of political parties to vote in those parties’ primaries, violates the Free and Equal Election Clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution (“[e]lections shall be free and equal; and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.”) because it doesn’t treat independent voters’ votes equally with those of party registrants.
Section 2812 prevents independent voters from having a say in who will be the candidates in the general election. They can only vote in the general election, when the results are often a foregone conclusion.
Pennsylvania is one of only nine states that completely prohibits independent voters from participating in primary elections, even though their tax dollars pay for the election.
“Simply put, by the time independent voters get to vote, most electoral races in Pennsylvania are already decided,” the petition argues. “At best, the choice has been formally or functionally narrowed to two nominees whom independent voters never had a chance to select.”
As the petition points out, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has previously held that “every voter has the same right as every other voter,” and that the Legislature can’t enact laws that dilute votes.
“[Current law] creates a two-tiered electorate, empowering party-affiliated voters while relegating independents to a powerless class whose participation comes too late to matter,” the petition argues.
Because independent voters tend to be more moderate, allowing them to vote in primaries would lead to a more engaged electorate and officials who are more likely to work together regardless of party.
The four independent voters are independent for a variety of reasons. Some were registered Republicans and Democrats but decided to become independents because they felt neither party represented their values. In the case of Smerconish and Thornburgh, being a member of a registered political party would undermine their credibility in their professional roles.
For others, because of the extreme partisanship in the country today, being a registered Democrat or Republican puts them at risk for reputational harm and reprisal.
