Independents Unable To Vote In Presidential Primary Election In April

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. – Voters who are currently registered as an Independent/Non-Partisan or with any minor political party (i.e. Green, Libertarian, Constitutional, etc.) are not permitted to vote in the upcoming Presidential Primary on April 23. Pennsylvania has a closed primary voting system, which allows only registered Democrats and Republicans to vote for their parties’ candidates in the primary.

Offices on the Presidential Primary ballot include U.S. president, U.S. senator, state attorney general, state auditor general, state treasurer, representative in Congress, senator in the General Assembly, representative in the General Assembly, and delegates to the Democratic and Republican national conventions.

Voters wanting to vote for any of these offices will need to change their party affiliation to either Democrat or Republican prior to April 8 by one of the following methods. Voters may also submit a change of name and/or a change of address. Voters who are already registered and only need to update their information must check the applicable box(es) on the voter registration form to change their name, change their address or change their party affiliation.

Ways To Submit A Change of Name, Address or Party Affiliation

• Submit changes online by visiting www.vote.pa.gov/register, which is available in both English and Spanish.
• Make changes in person at the Franklin County Voter Registration Office, 272 N. Second St., Chambersburg. The office is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Submit changes via mail one of two ways:

1. Obtain a state or federal voter registration mail application from a candidate, political party or other federal, state or municipal offices. Applications can also be requested from the Department of State’s website, www.vote.pa.gov.
2. Download the voter registration application on the Department of State’s website, www.vote.pa.gov or from the Franklin County website, www.franklincountypa.gov.

• Apply at a Department of Transportation photo license center when updating a driver’s license.
• Apply at a government agency. Clients of the following agencies may apply to register to vote or to make changes to their registration:

1. State offices that provide public assistance and services to persons with disabilities;
2. Armed forces recruitment centers
3. County Clerk of Court offices
4. Area Agencies on Aging and county mental health/intellectual disabilities offices
5. Centers for Independent Living

Deadline To Make Changes Is April 8

The deadline to apply for a Change of Name, Address and/or Party or to make a New Registration for the upcoming Presidential Primary is April 8. Voter applications received or postmarked after that date will be processed for the 2024 Presidential Election in November. Once the application is processed, each voter will receive a voter registration card in the mail notating the location of his or her polling place.

Any questions concerning updating a voter’s registration information should be directed to the Franklin County Voter Registration Office at 717-261-3886 or the Franklin County Election Board at 717-261-3810. Additional election and voter registration information is available on the Franklin County website, www.franklincountypa.gov.

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