VILLANOVA – Legislation allowing for open primaries in PA was the topic of a House State Government Committee hearing. House Bill 1369 would allow about 1.3 million independent and unaffiliated PA voters to choose a party primary in which to participate. David Thornburgh, Chair of Ballot PA, said the change is the right thing to do and noted broad public support for ending closed primaries. Testifying together was former Republican State Committee Chair Alan Novak and former Democratic State Committee Chair TJ Rooney. “Repealing closed primaries will allow candidates and parties to talk with more voters earlier in the process,” said Novak. Rooney said repealing closed primaries would provide “access to hundreds of thousands of new voters who could be members of a robust coalition for either party or any candidate.” PA is one of nine states with closed primaries.
