HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania's presidential primary is scheduled for the first day of Passover next year, potentially disenfranchising observant Jews across the state and giving new urgency to lawmakers hoping to move the state's primary election to earlier in the year.
The primary is scheduled for April 23, 2024, and Passover begins the previous evening. Traditional Jewish law prohibits many regular activities such as driving, writing, working and the use of electricity on the holiday, which is observed for eight days in the United States.
Legislators in Harrisburg have long pushed for Pennsylvania to move its presidential primary earlier in the year so the swing state would have a bigger voice in choosing nominees. Pennsylvania's presidential primary isn't until the fourth Tuesday of April, weeks after most states have finished their primary and the presidential nominees are all but certain. Voters also choose their nominees for U.S. Senate and state House and Senate during presidential primaries.
