Close-up of man casting and inserting a vote and choosing and making a decision what he wants in polling box with United States flag blended in background..
Pa. House votes to change primary date again
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Ben Wasserstein/WITF
Close-up of man casting and inserting a vote and choosing and making a decision what he wants in polling box with United States flag blended in background..
The state House is again trying to move the date of Pennsylvania’s 2024 primary, even though county commissioners across the state say it’s too late to do so.
Right now, the primary is set for April 23.
Some lawmakers say a problem because it’s on Passover, and because it is after several other states have already voted for presidential nominees. Moving the date earlier would avoid the religious holiday and give voters a louder voice in the presidential race.
But the House and the Senate have differed on the details of the bills, including which date would be best.
On Wednesday, the House passed an amended version of a Senate bill and sent that back to the Senate for final approval.
If that becomes law, the primary would be on April 16.
County commissioners have told the legislature there is not enough time to handle the tasks associated with changing the date, a point brought up again by Rep. Russ Diamond, R-Lebanon.
“We’re beyond the time where it’s reasonable to expect our counties to change the date for an election that is only months out,” Diamond said.
Rep. Arvind Venkat, D-Allegheny, was critical of the April 16 date, as it falls on the start of the Hindu holiday of Rama Navami. Nevertheless, he voted for the date.
“I do believe we need to move our primary, and it has nothing to do with religious reasons,” he said. “It is because Pennsylvania deserves to play a far more relevant role in presidential primaries.”
Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, called the amendments to the bill unacceptable and said House Democrats should have acted sooner.
Pa. Republican lawmakers and the U.S. Capitol attack
As part of WITF’s commitment to standing with facts, and because the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was an attempt to overthrow representative democracy in America, we are marking elected officials’ connections to the insurrection. Read more about this commitment.
Sen. Pittman (R-Indiana), signed a letter asking Congress to delay certification of Pennsylvania’s 2020 election results –despite no evidence calling those results into question.
These actions supported the election-fraud lie, which led to the attack on the Capitol.
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