Closed primaries permit only those voters who are registered to a specific party to vote in that party's primary election. This is currently the law of the land in Pennsylvania.

However, the Pennsylvania closed presidential primary (and the general idea of a closed primary) is an undemocratic concept. In a state that has more than 1 million voters registered as something other than Democrat or Republican, these voters are being silenced and treated like their opinion does not matter.

These voters will vote in the general election, and their vote should count now just as much as it does in November.

Open or semi-open primaries present a solution to the closed primary problem by allowing people that are not registered as a Democrat or a Republican to vote in these elections. In recent weeks, we have seen voters turned away from the closed primary polls for simply trying to exercise their right to vote--and why?

Because they were registered as an Independent? This is undemocratic, this is voter suppression, and this must be changed.