Don’t WAIT – Monday March 28th is the deadline for eligible Pennsylvania residents to change their political party affiliation or register to vote in the primary election April 26.

Pennsylvania has a closed primary, meaning voters must register as a Democrat or Republican to cast a vote in the presidential primary contest, an election that typically increases voter turnout.  If you are an independent in Pennsylvania, and you wish to vote in the republican presidential primary, you must change your party affiliation BEFORE MONDAY.

Independents and other non-partisan registered voters will only be able to vote for or against two proposed amendments to the state constitution. One amendment seeks to extend the mandatory retirement age for judges from 70 to 75; the other would abolish the Philadelphia Traffic Court.

To register to vote or to change party affiliation or update a home address or name, visit: www.register.votesPA.com.  Voters can also register and make changes by mail or by visiting an election office in person.  A full list of election office locations and phone numbers is available HERE.

There is little reason to believe that candidate Donald Trump will not be able to reach the needed 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the republican nomination.  By most objective measures Trump is well on his way to achieve the needed threshold.  However, the conversation about the possibility of an “open convention” is even more of a reason to get out and vote.

In the final analysis, any possible open convention will be an argument of who holds the majority voice.  Therefore the aggregate vote accumulated by each candidate will be a substantive part of the argument within the GOP convention debate.

This past week in Arizona tens of thousands of voters stood for hours in line to cast their votes.  Unfortunately many independent voters found themselves blocked out of the presidential primary because only registered Democrats and Republicans were eligible to vote.

By all measures the larger Arizona polling locations were overwhelmed with the turnout, which has been blowing away all former predictive models.

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It is even more critical now to engage in the political election process and allow your voice to be counted.  Even if you live in an area or region where your political views might be considered in the minority, this year your voice counts more than ever before.

Every single vote matters.