Pennsylvania's independent voters surge, despite being locked out of primaries

Temporarily joining a political party is the only way Malinowski and independent voters can participate in primaries, because Pennsylvania is one of a few states to exclude them from the process of selecting party nominees.

Some voting advocates warn that closed primaries, coupled with America’s dominant two-party system, essentially disenfranchise the fastest-growing group of the commonwealth’s electorate.

The proportion of Pennsylvanians registered as independent or third-party voters has steadily risen from 12% in the 2005 general election to 16% in 2025, according to data from the Department of State.

And the data shows the growth of those voters over the last two decades outpaces both major parties. Registered Democrats dropped to 43% of all Pennsylvania voters last year, after a high of 51% in 2011. Republicans’ gains, on the rise since 2015, brought their share of voters to 41% last year, rectifying a dip in registrations to match their percentage in 2005.


https://www.witf.org/2026/02/01/pennsylvanias-independent-voters-surge-despite-being-locked-out-of-primaries/