The number of Schuylkill County voters registered outside the two major parties grew faster this year than Democrats and Republicans combined.
As of Oct. 29, five days before Tuesday’s General Election, 14,079 county voters were registered with a third party or no party at all, according to the County Election Bureau. That’s 845 more than ahead of last year’s Municipal Election.
Democrats grew by 159 over the same stretch, their first gain since 2020, reaching 25,524. Republicans grew by 127, reaching 53,261. That leaves the GOP with a 27,737-voter advantage, just 32 voters smaller than a year ago.
Most of the voters outside the major parties, 10,327, list no affiliation. Another 932 are registered as Independent, and 564 are Libertarians.
In all, 92,864 people are registered to vote in Schuylkill County, 1,131 more than a year ago. That’s the most registered voters in the county since 2009, according to state records.
Voters outside the major parties have been a growing group for years. Their number has more than doubled since 2000, when there were 6,489. Back then they made up about 7% of the county’s voters. As of Oct. 29, they made up about 15%.
The Republican lead isn’t new. State records show the GOP has outnumbered Democrats in Schuylkill County in every November election since at least 2000. That year, there were 46,093 Republicans and 34,655 Democrats, a gap of about 11,400.
The race tightened through the 2000s. Democrats peaked at 40,199 voters in 2009, and the gap shrank to its smallest point, 3,674 voters, in 2011.
Then things turned. Republicans hit a low of 39,002 voters in 2015 and have added more than 14,000 since. The biggest jumps came in presidential election years.
Democrats have gone the other way. The Oct. 29 count is about 14,700 below their 2009 peak.
Tuesday’s ballot includes the race for governor. Gov. Josh Shapiro and Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, both Democrats, face Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity and her running mate, Jason Richey, along with Libertarian Ken Krawchuk and his running mate, John Thomas.
In the 9th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser faces Democrat Rachel Wallace.
Schuylkill County voters will also pick state representatives in four districts, all held by Republicans. In the 123rd Legislative District, state Rep. Tim Twardzik faces Democrat John Deatrich. In the 124th, state Rep. Jamie Barton faces Democrat Tina Burns. In the 107th, state Rep. Joanne Stehr faces Democrat Ryan Coleman. In the 116th, state Rep. Dane Watro is unopposed.
Not everyone picks a major party, or any real party at all. The County’s report lists dozens of registrations with just a handful of voters each.
One voter lists their party as “Barack Obama.” Others, one apiece, are registered as “Apatheticrat,” “Best Person,” “Depends,” “Jesus Our King,” and “Beer/Sex/Rock Roll.” One voter still lists “#66 PA for Perot,” more than 30 years after Ross Perot’s first run for president.
The list also includes “Pirate,” “Tea Party,” “Not Sure,” and “Undecided.” And 32 voters are registered as “Independant,” with an “a,” separate from the 932 listed under the usual spelling.
Data for this article comes from the Pennsylvania Department of State’s voter registration reports for each November election from 2000 to 2025, and from the Schuylkill County Election Bureau. Year-over-year comparisons use the Election Bureau’s counts from Oct. 21, 2025, and Oct. 29, 2026.
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