In the end, more people will vote in Pennsylvania.

And more people will look to see who’s actually on the ballot, no longer having the option to press the “D” or “R” button to cast a straight party-line vote.

Last week Pennsylvania took a step to modernize some of its most archaic voting rules — ones that placed bureaucratic obstacles before the exercise of a basic right — and flushed them down the toilet.

On Thursday, Gov. Tom Wolf signed a bipartisan measure that will allow many more voters to choose their representatives without going to the polls. By eliminating the need for an official excuse to cast an absentee ballot (“I have a disability,” “I’ll be out of the country”), anyone can now “mail it in.” Voters can request an absentee ballot as early as 50 days before an election. They can submit it as late as 8 p.m. on Election Day.

There’s more. Anyone can register to vote up to 15 days before an election (instead of 30 days). You can be put on a permanent mailing list to automatically receive applications for a mail-in ballot for future elections.

County governments got something they wanted — help from the state to help pay for mandated voting machines with voter-verifiable paper trail systems. Wolf and the Legislature agreed to borrow $90 million to reimburse counties for 60 percent of the cost.

Bringing Pennsylvania up to speed on voting access was a compromise between the parties. Republicans wanted to scrap single-button voting, which they consider a Democratic machine tactic to assure big numbers in the cities. Democrats wanted to free up the deadlines and rules, and spend some money ($4 million) to make sure everyone is counted in the 2020 census, among other things.

State Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Lehigh/Northampton, who occasionally has crossed her party’s leaders by working with Republicans, played a role in the process. She sponsored the original bill to eliminate straight-party voting, now officially a relic of ward politics.

Boscola said she envisions people voting on their own time, in the comfort of their homes, researching candidates’ bios and voting records, engaging in family discussions as they prepare to make their choices.

These reforms are sure to disappoint folks who want a more radical approach to routing corruption from government.

Voting is the primary act of self-government. It’s among the most precious rights ever set to law, and requires protection as well as openness. We’ve seen in recent years how voter participation, access to polls and vote-counting have altered the course of history.

We would have preferred to see other changes: Online voting. Giving all voters, not just Republicans and Democrats, the ability to participate in primary elections. Pennsylvania still has miles to go to get partisan meddling out of elections, including a fair, more independent process of redistricting.

Still, this is a step forward. Voting isn’t really free unless it is easy.