Four independent voters have asked the state Supreme Court to declare Pennsylvania’s closed voting system violates the state Constitution’s guarantee of free and fair elections, writes Pat Loeb for KYW Newsradio.
The voters argue that in many races, the party primaries are the only meaningful contests, not the general election. Only a few swing districts remain in the state, as most of Pennsylvania is dominated by either Democrats or Republicans.
“Exclusion from primary elections is the functional equivalent of losing the right to vote in those districts,” states the 51-page petition.
The plaintiffs have named the Department of State, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Secretary of State Al Schmidt, serving under Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, as respondents to the lawsuit.
“It might be suggested that petitioners have brought exclusion on themselves by choosing to not identify as members of a political party,” argued the four voters in the lawsuit, adding that that ignores how the state Constitution’s Free and Equal Elections Clause “is designed to equalize voters’ power regardless of their faction (or lack thereof) and regardless of their individual political viewpoints.”
The plaintiffs asked the justices to take up the case directly.
Read more about the issue brought to the State Supreme Court at KYW Newsradio.
