Support rises for Rabb and Solomon’s open primary legislation
Rep. Jared G. Solomon September 14, 2023 | 9:46 AM
Support continues to grow for voting access legislation authored by state Reps. Jared Solomon and Chris Rabb, both D-Phila.
Philadelphia’s prestigious newspaper of record, The Philadelphia Inquirer, recently endorsed their bill to bring more voters into Pennsylvania’s election process.
Rabb and Solomon said that the fastest growing group of voters in Pennsylvania are unaffiliated voters. Their proposed legislation would open primary elections to unaffiliated voters, which make up more than one million voters in Pennsylvania.
“As a strong and established advocate of voters’ rights, I don’t believe there should be any one disenfranchised or a so-called second class of voters,” Rabb said. “Independent voters have a right to cast their ballot and be a part of the democratic process.”
Solomon reiterated, “Opening the closed primary system in Pennsylvania would allow over one million more people to participate in the democratic process. An open primary system would go a long way to create more civic engagement, introduce fresh ideas and promote a healthy democracy.”
Due to bipartisan support across the state, demonstrated in polling data, Rabb and Solomon are calling on the House State Government Committee to call this bill for a vote and move the bill to the House floor.
According to Rabb and Solomon, 30 states have chosen to include unaffiliated voters in their primary elections, allowing voters who pay taxes to choose their representation at the local, state and federal levels of government.