The Flow of Consciousness

Update, 2011-12-10: PA no longer has this neat online form. You have a few options, but the easiest is to just to fill out another registration form and tick the “change of party” box.

Pennsylvania, as well as other states, conducts closed primary elections. I believe this to be illegal, but that’s a topic for another day, perhaps closer to May 2008. For those unfamiliar with the concept of closed primary elections, an explanation is due. American political parties generally must offer only one set of candidates for an office, so all of the competition within the party is resolved in the primaries. However, members of a party can only vote on candidates within their party—the hope is to keep saboteurs from voting a weak candidate into the spot for that party. It’s a lousy explanation, but it will suffice.

Herein lays the problem: I’m a registered Democrat. I want to vote for Ron Paul in the primaries because I want my vote to matter and you should want the same for your vote, too! In order to vote for Ron Paul in the primaries, I must do something I thought I’d never do: become a Republican.

Fortunately, this change of parties is merely for paperwork—it’s not like my ideals change overnight. Can you already see the flaws in the system?

Anyway, here’s how I changed my PA voter registration…somewhat on-line. These instructions can also be followed to register if you haven’t already done so. However, there may be a point where things diverge, so be warned: I’m only showing currently registered voters how to change their party affiliation.

1. Go to www.votespa.com.
2. Click on Voter Registration on the sidebar.
3. Click on Voter Registration Application Forms.
4. Click on Onscreen Voter Registration Application.
5. Login with your PAPowerPort ID, or create one and login with it.
6. Once you’re entirely into the system, click Modify Voter Registration on the sidebar.
7. Leave the information in question #1 alone. It should be correct.
8. For question #2, check the box beside Change of Party. If you’re a new registrant, check the obvious box.
9. Inspect the information for questions #3 to #8. I had to fill in my driver’s license number.
10. Question #9 is the biggie: Change the drop down to REPUBLICAN.
11. Click the Continue button at the bottom of the page. You may be redirected back to the page and asked to fill in a captcha.
12. Click Download and Print Form. Print it out and send it in as marked—the elections office still needs your signature to actually change the information.
13. Click Finish.

Send in that print-out ASAP, as your change isn’t permanent until the office receives your signature.