PA Primary Voting: Registering as a Democrat in Pennsylvania

After seven weeks of heavy campaigning, the Pennsylvania primary is finally here. In my suburban Pittsburgh polling place, turn-out was not tremendous by noon, but not bad considering this is a primarily Republican area compared to the Democratic-focused city of Pittsburgh. Five hours into voting, Democrats outvoted Republicans here 7 to 1, demonstrating the competitiveness of the Democrat race versus the anti-climatic Republican race.

Interestingly, it turns out that I'm a registered PA Democrat because of one reason alone -- government bureaucracy.

At this point, you're probably expecting me to start some rant about the Bush administration and the government waste that abounds. While that could prompt me to become a registered PA Democrat, that alone would not get me there. I consider myself a moderate who leans toward the conservative side on social issues, which would make me more apt to become a Republican.

Actually, come to think of it, I did register Republican. So how am I a registered PA Democrat?

Good question. I asked myself the same thing when I went to my local polling place a few years back.

First, back to the beginning ... When I first registered to vote, I registered Democrat because that's what everyone in Pittsburgh does. Most Pittsburghers are a lot like me when it comes to politics -- we're probably more moderate to conservative, but we register as Democrats because that's the tradition. Our mayoral elections are decided in May instead of November since this is when the PA Democratic primary is held. If you're not a registered Democrat, then you don't get much of a say in local politics, so most people just decide to register Democrat, then vote for whoever they want (Democrat or Republican) in the national elections.

When I moved out of Pittsburgh, I decided to show my "true colors" and become a registered Republican. It's not that I felt strongly about being a Republican. (I voted against Republican Jesse Helms in my first North Carolina election because he's just too "conservative" for me.) For whatever reason, I felt that I identified more strongly with the Republicans (even though I'm not a Rick Santorum Republican either).

However, it turns out that the Republicans don't identify with me. Maybe it's because I'm not a Jesse Helms Republican or Rick Santorum Republican, and I voted against them both. Maybe they track that kind of stuff and kick you out if you don't vote with them. It wouldn't surprise me.

You can call me a flip-flopper (go ahead), because when I moved back to Pittsburgh, I registered as a PA Democrat again. I know. Where are my convictions? And, in the biggest flip-flop of all, I became a registered Republican again when I moved out of the city of Pittsburgh, since I wasn't as concerned about the local politics in the suburbs.

At least I thought I had registered Republican. I filled out the paperwork and I got my new voter's card that said I was a Republican. I even voted as a Republican once. I know that I did.

But, in last May's primaries, they must have known that I was going to vote against Rick Santorum, because my registration had mysteriously changed and I was now a registered PA Democrat once again. I asked the nice lady at my polling place and she had no idea how that could happen. I never filled out any paperwork to change my party back to being a Democrat, but there I was, registered Democrat nonetheless.

So, by the miracle of government bureaucracy, I am now a registered PA Democrat. No more flip-flops for me. If the Republicans don't want me, then I'm just going to stay with the Democrats (unless they decide to kick me out, too).