Voter registration is closed in the Keystone State for 2025. And while Republicans celebrate their achievements and Democrats lick their wounds, the biggest story of 2026 is the rise of independence in Pennsylvania politics.
The gap between Democrats and Republicans continues to narrow, according to voter registration data provided by the State Department.
Of Pennsylvania’s 8.9 million registered voters, 42.8 percent indicated they were a member of the Democratic Party and 40.9 percent identified as Republican. That’s just over 170,000 voters.
The number of independent people is constantly growing – 12.7% selected the “no affiliation” option.
Since October of last year, Democrats have lost about 158,000 voters, while the GOP has only lost about 30,000 – a difference of 128,000. Percentage-wise, that’s a 3.97% loss for Democrats and a 1.84% decline in Republican registered voters.
Who is growing? Yes, independent.
The number of people who chose the “no affiliation” option increased by 134,000, or 3.11%. Of the 10 counties with the most independent voters, the largest increases were in Montgomery (+5.54%), Lancaster (+5.29%), and Berks (+5.27%), with Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester and York also increasing by more than 4.0%.
Of the 10 GOP counties, only two, Berks (+0.33%) and Westmoreland (+0.25%), have seen growth over the past 12 months, with Delaware (-3.44%) losing the most.
The numbers are worse for Democrats, as all 10 counties with the most registered voters lost 2.5% or more of their registered voters, and Allegheny, Lehigh, Berks and Northampton lost more than four percent.
Largest Democratic Counties
| County | October 2024 | July 2025 | October 2025 | Change/year |
| Philadelphia | 796221 | 767574 | 768,569 | -3.47% |
| Allegheny | 522563 | 499 485 | 501247 | -4.08% |
| Montgomery | 310207 | 300 726 | 302253 | -2.56% |
| Delaware | 208246 | 199,972 | 201051 | -3.46% |
| Dollars | 199932 | 192,350 | 192 609 | -3.66% |
| Chester | 162840 | 157235 | 158551 | -2.63% |
| Lancaster | 114 199 | 110591 | 111,027 | -2.76% |
| Lehigh | 114929 | 109,643 | 109,872 | -4.40% |
| Berki | 108704 | 103744 | 103820 | -4.49% |
| Northampton | 98549 | 94,698 | 93,909 | -4.71% |
| Total | 3,971,607 | 3,806,544 | 3,813,866 | -3.97% |
Largest Republican Counties
| County | October 2024 | July 2025 | October 2025 | Change/year |
| Allegheny | 270,952 | 264188 | 264 863 | -2.25% |
| Montgomery | 212 792 | 208 604 | 209 005 | -1.78% |
| Dollars | 203 901 | 202198 | 202815 | -0.53% |
| Lancaster | 185 018 | 183744 | 184158 | -0.46% |
| York | 170,667 | 167520 | 168210 | -1.44% |
| Chester | 156183 | 151,781 | 152194 | -2.55% |
| Delaware | 149923 | 145,024 | 144760 | -3.44% |
| Philadelphia | 131,600 | 130,925 | 131,498 | -0.08% |
| Westmoreland | 130 712 | 130,719 | 131,039 | +0.25% |
| Berki | 117 619 | 117 419 | 118,002 | +0.33% |
| Total | 3,673,873 | 3,631,635 | 3,643,258 | -1.84% |
Largest “unaffiliated” counties.
(does not include third parties)
| County | October 2024 | July 2025 | October 2025 | Change/year |
| Philadelphia | 138,397 | 141596 | 144559 | +4.45% |
| Allegheny | 108834 | 107,108 | 109,627 | +0.73% |
| Montgomery | 75,906 | 77940 | 80 110 | +5.54% |
| Dollars | 64179 | 65565 | 67093 | +4.54% |
| Chester | 54078 | 55 100 | 56672 | +4.80% |
| York | 48910 | 49281 | 51060 | +4.40% |
| Lancaster | 46093 | 47135 | 48532 | +5.29% |
| Delaware | 45569 | 46243 | 47362 | +3.93% |
| Lehigh | 43363 | 43235 | 44025 | +1.53% |
| Berki | 36897 | 37721 | 38841 | +5.27% |
| Total | 1,096,427 | 1,103,810 | 1,130,562 | +3.11% |
Age groups
| Range | Registered | Democrat | Republican | Other |
| 18-24 | 793555 | 41.27% | 34.76% | 23.97% |
| 25-34 | 1,447,939 | 45.03% | 32.47% | 22.50% |
| 35-44 | 1,447,836 | 43.86% | 35.45% | 21.69% |
| 45-54 | 1,283,357 | 40.27% | 42.04% | 17.67% |
| 55-64 | 1,469,103 | 38.99% | 48.35% | 12.66% |
| 65-74 | 1,398,151 | 44.42% | 45.61% | 9.97% |
| 75 years and over | 1,067,075 | 45.77% | 46.54% | 7.69% |
