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Jewish leaders in Butler County support moving state’s presidential primary up a month

Yossi Feller, of the Chabad Jewish Center of Cranberry, speaks at the 2022 Hanukkah celebration in Cranberry Township. Feller and Cantor Michal Gray-Schaffer of the Congregation B’nai Abraham in Butler support moving the 2024 presidential primary in Pennsylvania so it doesn’t conflict with Passover. Butler Eagle File Photo

A piece of legislation meant to show sensitivity to Jewish voters is moving its way through the state Legislature. If passed, it could have an impact nationally on the 2024 primary election.

Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives, which reconvened Tuesday, Sept. 26, for the first time since July 7, is considering a bill to move the date of the state’s presidential primary election from April 23 to March 19. The change would keep the primary from conflicting with the Passover holiday. The state Senate has already approved the bill 45-2.

If this legislation were to pass, it could add greater importance to Pennsylvania’s primary election, letting voters go to the polls before each party has a clear winner or loser.

The heads of two Jewish houses of worship in Butler County said they support moving the primary. If the Pennsylvania presidential primary stayed on its current date, then most Jewish voters would be discouraged from going to the polls on Election Day, as they traditionally refrain from driving or using electricity on Passover, they said.

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