Pennsylvania’s voter rolls point to a far tighter partisan balance than four years ago, as voters in the commonwealth will decide next week whether to retain three members of the state Supreme Court.

The state’s current weekly workbook, which provides a point-in-time snapshot and changes as counties update records, shows Democrats with only a narrow lead among active voters.

As of the week ending on Oct. 27, 2025, the state’s weekly file shows Democrats ahead by about 60,000 among active voters, in contrast to 2020, when Democrats had a lead of more than 685,000 registrations. Meanwhile, the number of voters not affiliated with either major party rose to nearly 1.45 million in the latest tally.

Certified totals confirm the long slide. Before the Nov. 3, 2020, election, Pennsylvania had 4,228,888 registered Democrats and 3,543,070 registered Republicans, a gap of 685,818. By the time of the May 2025 primaries, registration stood at 3,807,966 Democrats and 3,629,896 Republicans, a gap of 178,070.

Total registration also fell across those snapshots, from 9,090,962 in 2020 to 8,850,892 in May 2025.

Voters outside the two major parties make up a significant share. In 2020, “unaffiliated” or “other parties” totaled 1,319,004. In May 2025, “other parties” plus the Libertarian Party equaled 1,413,030. The number of registrations outside the two major parties increased to 1,449,897 in October 2025.

County patterns help to explain the statewide shift. Bucks County—a pivotal swing county—moved from a Democratic edge in 2020 of 208,890 Democrats and 198,632 Republicans—to a Republican edge by May 2025 of 202,409 Republicans and 192,723 Democrats.

Luzerne County followed a similar path, swinging from 106,361 Democrats and 86,369 Republicans in 2020 to 90,456 Republicans and 84,227 Democrats in 2025.

Republicans widened their lead in Westmoreland County, growing from 119,733 Republicans and 103,415 Democrats in 2020 to 130,447 Republicans and 87,784 Democrats in 2025.

Philadelphia remains a Democratic stronghold, although totals fell from 856,949 Democrats in 2020 to 766,736 in 2025.

Automatic voter registration (AVR) was implemented for the first full year in 2024. The AVR, which happens when residents interact with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation through driver’s license services, has changed the mix of new registrants since its inception in September 2023. The state reports 948,061 AVR applications and 301,652 new registrations through late October 2025.

Among those new voters, about 36 percent registered with neither major party. Thirty-three percent registered as Republicans and 31 percent as Democrats. In a similar preelection window four years earlier, the split was about 33 percent “other,” 30 percent Republican, and 37 percent Democrat.

Counties verify new registrations against state and local records and can reject or remove suspicious applications. On Oct. 24, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that seven people have been charged after a year-long inquiry into falsified voter-registration applications filed ahead of the 2024 election.

The case names six canvassers and a supervisor, Guillermo Sainz, who led the Pennsylvania work for Field+Media Corps. Charges include solicitation of registration, forgery, tampering with public records, unsworn falsification, and other election law violations tied to York, Lancaster, and Berks counties. Prosecutors said the investigation did not find a broader scheme to manipulate an election.

Pennsylvania remains a top battleground state. It helped President Donald Trump secure the presidency in 2016 and 2024 and President Joe Biden win in 2020.

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