The 2024 Election will undoubtedly lead to division, anxiety and frustration for millions of Americans. The 2024 Primary Election is already creating issues for Pennsylvania legislators up for election themselves. Typically, the Primary Election in Pa. has mattered very little in presidential election years. With its primary typically the last week in April, Pa. is one of the last states to vote and well after most of the candidates have been weeded out and the eventual nominee is already a certainty. By the end of April 2016, twelve initial Republican candidates were reduced to just three. Similarly, by the end of April 2020, over twenty initial Democratic candidates were reduced to the two frontrunners of Biden and Sanders, and Biden already had an insurmountable lead in the race. This lack of candidate choice in presidential election years has led many Pennsylvanians to feel underrepresented in the primary process. This is especially important as Pa. is considered a bellwether state in the general election.
In 2024, Pa.’s primary falls on April 23, which happens to be during Jewish Passover holiday week. To avoid holding the primary on a religious holiday, the decision to move the primary date has received rare bipartisan support in the General Assembly. This creates the next headache in deciding what the new primary election date should be. Despite logistical concerns about the availability of polling places and volunteers, both the state House and Senate have approved earlier dates that would allow Pa.’s primary to take place weeks before April 23. The Democratic-led House recently passed a bill proposed by Representative Malcom Kenyatta of Philadelphia that would move the primary date to April 2; while the Republican led Senate passed a bill drafted by David Argall of Schuylkill County that would advance the primary to March 19.
Democrats want to create a regional, multi-state primary date with Delaware, Connecticut and New York, which already have their Primary Election set on April 2. They argue that this will allow for easier travel scheduling for Presidential candidates and will make the region more attractive to Presidential candidates. In addition, Democrats argue that this would give local election officials more time to adjust to the earlier date and minimize the odds of a chaotic election day. Republicans, however, want to maximize Pa.’s importance as a bellwether state by moving Election Day to March 19, two weeks after Super Tuesday on March 2 where over a dozen states vote. This puts Pa. on the electoral calendar with other swing states like Ohio, Arizona and Florida and would leave Pa. as a key state that could help decide a race between two frontrunners or a small group of candidates who are running neck and neck. Republicans have opposed moving the election to March 2, stating that its proximity to Easter would be disruptive to travel and religious celebration.
In the House, a similar bill that would move the election to March 19 failed after amendments were made adding provisions for stricter voter identification requirements. Voter ID laws would require all persons eligible to vote to carry some form of approved photo identification with them when they go to vote. Republicans argue that this would help ease concerns over voter fraud while Democrats allege that Voter ID laws only suppress voter turnout in Black and Brown urban communities where a valid form of identification such as a driver’s license may not be necessary and a form of voter suppression.
Although both sides remain optimistic about the potential for Pa. finally taking its place as a bellwether primary state, it remains to be seen whether the General Assembly will be able to put their differences aside in favor of setting an earlier Primary Election date.
