Editorial for March 27, 2008 edition:


Open the primaries

Voters in the Great Northeast — home to a majority of Philadelphia’s Republicans, and plenty of Democrats — tend to cherish their independence. In presidential elections, Democrats have voted in big numbers for Ronald Reagan; Republicans have voted in big numbers for Bill Clinton. Local Republicans have been wild for Ed Rendell and Michael Nutter; local Democrats have been wild for Frank Rizzo and Sam Katz.
Trouble is, Pennsylvanians have the freedom of choice in November general elections but not the spring primary elections.
Registration for the April 22 presidential primary closed on Monday, and for the first time in Keystone State history, 4 million Democrats are registered to vote. Something or somebody has touched an electoral nerve by inspiring would-be voters to register. Want to vote for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in the primary? If you’re not registered as a Democrat, you’re out of luck. Same goes for would-be McCain voters. If you’re not registered as a Republican, forget about it.
If ticket splitting is good enough for the general election, it’s good enough for the primaries, too. All registered voters — Republicans, Democrats, independents, anyone age 18 or older — should be able to vote for the candidate, not the party, in primary elections. Nearly half the states in the union have some sort of open-primary system. Open primaries are more inclusive. Party bosses may despise open primaries, but tough apples. Closed primaries are counter to democracy.
Get the ball rolling, citizens. Pennsylvania’s top politician, Gov. Rendell, has mass appeal among Republicans and Democrats alike. Call his Harrisburg office — 1-717-787-2500 — and tell him to lead efforts to make Pennsylvania an open-primary state. ••

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