Primary voting for independents proposed
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Enrolled voters who aren't part of a political party could be allowed to vote in one primary election of their choosing under legislation proposed recently in the state Assembly.
Assemblyman Sam Berger, D-Flushing, has introduced legislation (A.11650) that would allow voters not enrolled in a political party to designate and vote in the primary election of a political party. The bill would not apply to presidential primary elections. Berger's bill would remove language in the state Election Law to remove language from the voter registration notice stating that only enrolled members of a political party may vote in that party’s primaries while adding a new paragraph allowing a voter to designate the ballot of one political party in a primary election and then to vote in that party's primary.
"New York maintains a closed primary system, prohibiting voters who choose not to enroll in a political party from participating in primary elections," Berger wrote in his legislative justification. "Yet unaffiliated voters comprise a significant and growing portion of the electorate. Many choose to remain independent because they do not identify with either major political party or prefer not to affiliate with a party."
The change would affect more registered voters than one would think. In November, the New York Public Interest Research Group wrote that “non-partisan blanks” have seen their enrollments swell, having overtaken Republican enrollment as of 2020. The research group wrote that in 2010, Democratic enrollment totaled just short of half (49.66%) of New York voters, Republicans were a bit shy of one-quarter (24.93%), and "blanks" slightly more than 20% (20.04%). In 2025, Democrats' percentage slipped a bit (now 48.15%); Republicans dropped (22.41% - though that was a bit higher than recent elections); and "blanks" increased to over one quarter (25.24%) of registrants.
"By allowing independent voters to participate in one primary without requiring permanent party enrollment, this legislation preserves the integrity of the party nomination process while expanding participation in elections that often determine the officeholders for local, state, and congressional districts. The bill ensures that voters who choose to remain unaffiliated are not excluded from meaningful participation in the democratic process solely because they decline formal party membership," Berger wrote. .
Four Pennsylvania voters took their case to the commonwealth’s highest court in 2025, asking the judges to declare the current system violates the state constitution's right to free and fair elections. They argued that in many districts and in many races, including for the great majority of legislative seats, the primary elections among Republicans and Democrats are the only real contests, not the fall election. There are relatively few "swing" districts -- in most parts of Pennsylvania, one party or the other predominates. Pennsylvania's nearly 8.9 million registered voters include some 3.8 million Democrats, 3.6 million Republicans and about 1.4 million others.
Jeremy Gruber, senior vice president with New York-based Open Primaries, a group that campaigns for more open primaries among the states, told the Associated Press that Pennsylvania is among 14 states with closed primaries. New Mexico this year passed a law allowing voters with no party affiliation to vote in primary elections without changing their nonpartisan status.
The “King’s Bench” petition was denied in 2025, with a new case filed. The second case is pending judicial review after hearings and responses from state officials.