If you’re a registered Democrat or Republican in Pennsylvania, you’ll get to vote in April’s primary elections. If you’re an independent not affiliated with the party however, you won’t get a say until November. In the latest episode of Battleground Politics, Lauren Mayk speaks with David Thornburgh – the former head of the Committee of 70 and current chair of Ballot PA – about the push to allow independents to vote in Pennsylvania’s primaries.
Here is a full breakdown of the episode:
0:09 – Who gets to vote in the Pennsylvania primary election?
0:25 – Pennsylvania’s registered voters by the numbers
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0:47 – Lauren introduces David Thornburgh, Chair of Ballot PA
1:18 – David shares the why behind Ballot PA
1:37 – Who the independent voters are in Pennsylvania
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2:49 – What makes the current push to allow independents in the Pa. primaries different from previous efforts?
4:59 – What kind of change would this idea bring?
5:09 – David speaks on the cost of primary elections and who gets to participate in them
5:31 – Political extremism and incentives to govern
8:04 – Party switching and temporary party registrations
10:00 – The growth of independent voters and the state of young voters
12:19 – Different states, different kinds of primary elections
13:53 – Lauren asks about the possibility of this proposal being tucked into another bill
16:08 – How the support of governors, past and present, and bipartisan support came to be
17:50 – What’s next and what’s ahead for Ballot PA
19:07 – The 2024 election and whether it helps or hurts the cause
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