Ballot PA Chair David Thornburgh talks the push to allow independents to vote in Pennsylvania primaries

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 numbers0:47 – Lauren introduces David Thornburgh, Chair of Ballot PA1:18 – David shares the why behind Ballot PA1:37 – Who the independent voters are in Pennsylvania2:49 – 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 them5:31 – Political extremism and incentives to govern8:04 – Party switching and temporary party registrations10:00 – The growth of independent voters and the state of young voters12:19 – Different states, different kinds of primary elections13:53 – 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 be17:50 – What’s next and what’s ahead for Ballot PA19:07 – The 2024 election and whether it helps or hurts the cause Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.