House Bill 280 could have a big backer.
Governor Josh Shapiro says he's open to getting a bill on his desk to open Pennsylvania's primaries to independent voters.
State Representative Jeremy Shaffer from Allegheny County co-sponsored the bill that passed the House in a bipartisan 115-88 vote and told KDKA's Colin Dunlap he's hopeful the legislation's momentum continues in the Senate.
“I was hoping we’d have more people but the opposition to this was bipartisan and the support was bipartisan,” said Shaffer. “The support and opposition broke down along different lines and looking forward to now having this in the State Senate and have strong support from Devlin Robinson, who is a State Senator from our area and counting on him to help move this forward.”
More than 1.5 million voters in Pennsylvania are registered as independent, unaffiliated, or with a third party.
Shaffer says Pennsylvania is one of eight states that does not allow independents to participate in primaries.
He believes that the bill could make political races more competitive.
The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
