Just a few hours after the polls opened for Primary Election Day in Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro cast his ballot at Rydal West Elementary School in Montgomery County.

While the governor, who is seeking a second term, encouraged all Pennsylvanians to exercise their right to vote, he also opened the door to supporting legislation that would change Pennsylvania’s primary laws.

“I’ve made very clear to members of the General Assembly that I’m open to getting a bill on my desk to open up our primaries,” Shapiro said to the Center Square.

Under Pennsylvania’s current laws, only registered Democrats and registered Republicans can vote for candidates who are running in their respective party’s primaries. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, Pennsylvania is just one of eight states nationwide to have closed primaries.

A majority of voters in the state are registered as Democrats or Republicans. According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, there are 3,833,543 registered Democrats and 3,641,157 registered Republicans, as of Monday.

However, the fastest-growing voting bloc in Pennsylvania are independent voters.

There are a total of 1,480,158 voters in Pennsylvania who are either registered to vote independent, unaffiliated, or with a third party.

Berwood Yost, the director of the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College recently told the Pittsburgh Tribune Review that in 2000, about 7% of registered voters in the state were independent. That number has risen to 16%, as of today.

Some lawmakers and organizations are currently aiming to change the state’s laws.

State Rep. Jared Solomon, D-Philadelphia, has sponsored House Bill 280, that would allow unaffiliated voters to participate in primary elections. His proposal has over two dozen Democratic co-sponsors and one Republican backing it.

State Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, is the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 400, which “aims to repeal Pennsylvania’s closed primary system, enabling voters registered as independents–those who select ‘no affiliation’ or ‘none’ on their voter registration forms–to participate in primary elections.” That proposal has 12 additional co-sponsors — four Republicans and eight Democrats.

While Laughlin’s bill still sits in the Senate State Government Committee, Solomon’s proposal was passed by the state House State Government Committee in May 2025 by a 14-12 vote. Every Democrat on the committee voted to advance Solomon’s bill, while every Republican opposed it.

Solomon hopes his bill will be brought to a vote this year, WTAE reports.

While some lawmakers have crafted legislation to address the matter, an effort is also underway with the courts.

In July, Ballot PA Action, a coalition aimed at overturning the state’s closed primary laws, filed a lawsuit against the state, arguing closed primaries violate Pennsylvania’s Constitution.

Opponents of open primary legislation, like Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO of the Lincoln Institute, believe those who wish to participate in either party’s primary should register with that party.

“As a registered Republican, and one who has been active in the Republican party my entire adult life, I do not want Democrats or anyone not a member of the Republican Party deciding our standard bearer,” Henry wrote in an op-ed published on May 5. “Open primaries would in fact deprive us of the ability to select candidates who adhere to the principles and policies for which our party stands.”

A Franklin & Marshall College poll from 2024 showed that 77% of Pennsylvanians favor an open primary system, adding that nearly a third (31%) of voters said that allowing independents to vote in open primaries would make them likely to change their party registration.

In previous sessions, similar bills have advanced out of committee and even passed the state Senate in 2019. However, none of these proposals have been approved by both chambers to reach the governor’s desk.

When asked by the Center Square on Tuesday what kind of impact he thinks it would have to open up primary elections in Pennsylvania, Shapiro responded by saying “look, I want people to get out and vote.”

“I want people to be engaged in the process, for all the reasons I said to the question earlier today,” he said. “Your vote is your power.”

“Obviously, this legislature needs to find ways to come together on that, and a whole lot of other things,” Shapiro added.

When highlighting other areas he’d like to see the General Assembly address, he pinpointed raising the state’s minimum wage.

State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is the lone Republican on the primary election ballot for governor, did not immediately respond to a request for comment about her position on Pennsylvania’s primary election.