Some County Election Offices in the Midstate are noticing an interesting trend.  The number of new voters is growing.  So is the number of voters switching party affiliation.  It's happening in advance of Pennsylvania's Primary which is still two months away.       The phone calls are picking up in the Cumberland County Elections office.  Voters are calling to confirm they're registered to vote in the primary.  Also growing are the number of forms mailed by voters seeking to change their party affiliation, especially independent voters.  "We normally don't see the increase that we're seeing now,"  County Elections Director Penny Brown told abc27 News.
     Since the start of the year, 258 Cumberland County voters have made the change.  159 are now registered as Democrats while 99 have become Republicans.  About one fourth of those switches came in the last week alone, so the pace is picking up. 

     Under Pennsylvania election law, only voters registered with the two major parties are permitted to cast ballots in a primary.  Brown suspects that's why most independents are deciding to make the change,  "Any way you look at it it's going to be a historical election and people want to be a part of that."
     Add the fact that Pennsylvania's April 22nd primary could actually be meaningful.  With the Democratic nomination still up in the air, polling expert Jim Lee thinks the Keystone State could be key, "Some of the states that vote in late February, early March and ultimately Pennsylvania could be the deciding factor in who wins the Democratic nomination."
     In Dauphin County, the numbers are only slightly above average so far.  But that is expected to change as the voter registration deadline draws near.  To date, 388 Dauphin County voters have switched affiliations.  223 became Democrats and 93 are now with the GOP.  "Especially students," said Dauphin Director of Elections Steven Chiavetta,  "They don't want to be affiliated with a party, but they do want to vote for the presidential primary."
     March 24 is the deadline for submitting the form for registering to vote or change party affiliation.  Those forms are available at any county elections office, state store, public library or post office.  They can also be found on county government websites.