The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Editorial Board endorsed legislation to repeal closed primaries. The following contains an excerpt of one of their pieces.
Open primaries will increase voter turnout and ensure a more truly democratic process. That’s why good-government groups support them.
In a tight race, no candidate could afford to ignore independents. Unaffiliated voters would add only 93,000 to the pool of voters in Allegheny County, as of the May 1 voter registration tally, but those, generally more centrist, voters would make it harder for a candidate to appeal only to a fringe of the electorate.
Like all voters, independents should have a voice. Too often, they do not. In the 2020 general election, for instance, only 10 of 25 state Senate races, or 40%, were decided by fewer than 20 points. In the state House, only 44 of 203 races, or 22%, had less than a 20-point margin. In these uncontested general elections — which include all races in the City of Pittsburgh — independents are effectively disenfranchised.