My name is Dennis Miller, and I am Marine Corps Infantry.
I introduce myself this way because my service is central to who I am. But the road to that identity wasn’t straight.
I dropped out of Central High School in 1990. A few years later, I was shot during an altercation in West Philadelphia—less than an inch from my heart. That brush with death changed everything. I left the city with nothing and no one, sleeping in the back of a box truck before finding my way into a homeless shelter. The Marine Corps gave me a second chance, and I never forgot where I came from.
I enlisted in 1996. It’s been almost 30 years since I first raised my right hand to serve this country, and I’ve proudly voted in every general election since. But despite all that service—despite every deployment, every duty station, every year in uniform—I’ve never once been allowed to vote in a primary election. Not once. Why? Because I’m a lifelong Pennsylvania voter not registered with a political party.
Dennis Miller
In 1998, I deployed with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and executed a NATO mission in Bosnia. I couldn’t vote in the primary.
After 9/11, I was stationed at Marine Corps Base Quantico, where I was a lead trainer in combat marksmanship. I still couldn’t vote in the primary.
I was forward-deployed again in 2007 and still couldn’t vote in the primary.
In 2009, I retired and came home to Pennsylvania. And even then, even now, I still can’t vote in the primary election because I claim no party.
Pennsylvania is the birthplace of American democracy. As our nation approaches its 250th anniversary, it’s worth asking: How much of that promise have we truly fulfilled? I love this country. I love this commonwealth. And I believe in democracy—not in theory, but in practice. But what kind of system says you can go to war for your country, yet you can’t vote for the leaders who send our young people into combat?
It’s estimated that more than 1.35 million Pennsylvanians—hundreds of thousands of them veterans—are shut out of primary elections because they don’t belong to a political party. That’s not democracy. That’s a system rigged for parties, not people.
Open primaries are supported by an overwhelming majority of Pennsylvanians—Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike. Veterans across the state are stepping up to say enough is enough. If we’re good enough to serve, we should be allowed to vote.
This isn’t about party. It’s about principle.
If you’re a veteran with a story like mine, I’d like to hear from you. Because veterans don’t stop serving when we take off the uniform. We keep showing up—for our communities, for our country, and for the democracy we fought to protect.
If you’re a voter who believes in fairness and accountability, I ask you to stand with us. And if you’re an elected leader in Harrisburg, it’s time to act.
Let us vote.
