Pennsylvania’s primary election system allows only registered members of the two main political parties to help determine which candidates will run on the ballot in the fall.
Democrats or independents who think Snyder County Commissioner Malcolm Derk, a Republican, would make a first-class congressman can do little but cross their fingers and hope he wins the primary.
Republicans who support U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, now a Democrat, can only wait and see if he beats Rep. Joe Sestak in the spring primary.
In Northumberland County, members of the Republican and Democratic parties account for almost 91 percent of registered voters.
However, according to census data, 1-in-3 Northumberland County residents over the age of 18 are members of neither political party.
Similar rates are found in Snyder and Union counties.
Under Pennsylvania’s closed primary system, the one-third of adults who feel no compulsion to join a political party are barred from helping to select the candidates who will appear on the ballot in the fall election.
Several other states use systems that are more inclusive, regardless of party affiliation. In Iowa and Alaska, the primaries are closed, but voters may switch their political affiliation at the polling site. In California, the Democratic primary is open to Democrats and independent voters. In Massachusetts, independents can vote in whichever primary they wish.
Why does it matter?
Heard of a little thing called gridlock? Or voter apathy?
Too much of the political process in America is now geared toward galvanizing control and power.
Closed primaries drive politicos to the polls — either on the conservative or liberal sides — because candidates must pander to the party faithful to gain a nomination and get on the ballot in the fall.
It shuts out moderate voices and the views of those who care more about solving our nation’s problems and setting sound policy than maligning political adversaries.
