Episode Details

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

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

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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