With abysmally low voter turnout in the closed primary elections held  earlier this month in Pennsylvania, pressure is mounting to open the  process to Independents.

On  May 17th, Pennsylvania voters headed to the polls to cast their ballots  in primary elections for county and municipal offices, school boards  and judges.  Or rather, more precisely, voters didn’t head to the polls  to cast their ballots in the state’s primary elections.  As local Patch  columnist Tom De Martini wrote reflecting on the returns:

“Primary voter turnout is usually low,  but Tuesday's showing at the polls was one of the worst I can recall  since I starting casting ballots in 1979.”

One local CBS News affiliate felt it necessary to emphasize that, despite the low turnout, the  results still count:

“low voter turnout was the theme for the day, even  though a few key races were up for decision. A whopping 80 percent of  voters bypassed the election, but the results still count.”

Pennsylvania  is one of twenty states in which Independents and third party voters are prohibited from casting a ballot in the Republican and Democratic  party primaries, according to a tally by The Center for Voting and Democracy.  Roughly one million  Pennsylvanians, about one in eight voters, are not affiliated with any  party or are registered with a third party.

The  abysmal showing in the primary elections by the state’s Democrats and  Republicans is leading to increased calls for open primaries.  In the  above-mentioned column, De Martini closes by suggesting that “the  Commonwealth should repeal the laws excluding independent voters from  making their voices heard.”  An editorial at PennLive comes to the same conclusion:

“Perhaps if there isn’t enough interest  from Democrats and Republicans to vote in the primary, we should change  the law to allow independent voters to cast their ballots to help boost  turnout.”

Independents  in the Keystone State appear to be growing increasingly frustrated with  the Democratic and Republican parties, and a system that effectively  disenfranchises them from the first round of voting.

“It’s time for an  independent category in our political system. The two reigning parties  have not been serving us well and do not deserve to continue their  monopoly on public service,” wrote Stephen Hambric in an editorial for the Centre Daily Times.  In an article for The Philly Post, Larry Mendte recounted his experience as an Independent voter on primary day,  arguing that:

“It is time to open up the state to Independent voters and  ideas. It seems contrary to the concept of democracy to keep anyone  away from the polls in a statewide election.”

When  faced with criticism of the closed primary system, its supporters in  the Democratic and Republican parties often reply by stating that if  Independents desire to vote in the primary elections, they can simply  change their affiliation. Independents respond by pointing out  that if the Democratic and Republican parties want publicly funded  primary elections, these elections should not be effectively closed to the public.   William Thomas, an Independent Pennsylvanian, makes this precise case  in an angry letter to the editor of the Daily American.  He writes:

“tax payers have to foot the bill  for this affront to the American people’s guarantee to free and open  elections. Since only registered party members can vote in these  primaries, save the taxpayers some money and let each party hold and pay  for their own candidate selections.”

The  problem posed by Pennsylvania’s closed primary system is exacerbated by  the fact that candidates for local and state offices often cross-file  in both the Republican and Democratic primary elections, which can  easily result in uncontested general election races (if an uncontested  election can be called a race).  One lawmaker in Pennsylvania’s House of  Representatives, Democrat Eugene DePasquale, has proposed legislation that would open the system to allow Independents to vote in party  primaries.  "When you're cross-filing, you're essentially saying it's a  nonpartisan election . . .So especially in those cases, there's a need  for this," DePasquale recently told the York Daily Record.  However, the bill has yet to receive a vote in the legislature.

Perhaps  one might argue that if Independent Pennsylvanians are so frustrated  with the Democratic and Republican parties, they can register their  discontent by voting for Independent or third party candidates in the  general election.  But Democratic and Republican party activists work  tirelessly to ensure that such candidates do not appear on the ballot.  Last year, for instance, all of the third party and Independent  candidates for statewide office were effectively purged from the ballot when  Democrats and Republicans promised to contest every single signature on  their filing petitions, threatening hefty fines for the candidates in  question.  Independent and third party candidates must gather nearly 20,000 valid sigantures to appear on the general election ballot.  Democrats and Republicans are required to gather just 2,000 to appear on the primary ballot.

In  this month’s primary election, Republicans nominated Vic Stabile for  Superior Court Judge.  Stabile is an outspoken opponent of political  competition from outside the two-party system.

“Mr. Stabile led the  charge to get Libertarians knocked off the ballot in 2008 and was  recently quoted as being pleased by efforts to keep the Green and  Libertarian Parties from appearing on the statewide 2010 ballot,” said  the Pennsylvania Libertarian Party’s chair, Lou Jasikoff.

Independent Pennsylvanians have their work cut out for them.