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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) &#8212; Voters are switching their party affiliation in Pennsylvania at a rate not seen in years, if ever, as their chance to cast ballots in a competitive presidential primary election approaches.The latest statistics this week from Pennsylvania&#8217;s elections bureau show about 245,000 registered voters have switched this year. That amounts to 3 percent of the state&#8217;s 8.2 million registered voters.This is the first year voter registration in the state can be done online, making it easier than getting the paperwork, filling it out and submitting it. Many of those switching parties reported wanting to vote in Pennsylvania&#8217;s April 26 primary, and the switching accelerated in the weeks before Monday&#8217;s deadline for Pennsylvanians to register to vote in the election or change their voter registration.Among those making a switch, about half became Republicans, according to state statistics current as of Monday. One-third became Democrats and the rest &#8212; about one-eighth &#8212; joined a minor party or registered as unaffiliated.Complete state records on voter registration changes before 2009 were not available Wednesday. But pollster and public affairs professor Terry Madonna of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster said he believes the rate of party switching is a modern record in Pennsylvania.Still, Madonna said, it is hard to tell which presidential candidate the vote switching will benefit the most.And the numbers do not signal whether voters are switching to vote for or against a certain presidential candidate in an election year that has brought out strong reactions for and against Republican front-runner Donald Trump and a surge in support for Democrat Bernie Sanders over party favorite Hillary Clinton.Pennsylvania has voted for the Democrat in every presidential election since 1988.Those who switched their registration and were interviewed by The Associated Press or other news organizations gave a variety of reasons for their decision.Some like Jason Arnold, of Harrisburg, reported becoming a Democrat to vote for Sanders. Others reported becoming a Republican to vote for Trump or Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the GOP primary.While most party switchers joined the Republican Party, the news wasn&#8217;t all good for the GOP.More unaffiliated or third-party voters joined the Democratic Party this year &#8212; 52,200 became a Democrat while 42,600 switched to the GOP &#8212; and Democrats signed up more new voters this year, 70,000 to 55,500, according to state data. Democrats are heading into the primary with slightly above 4 million voters; Republicans with nearly 3.1 million.The hottest area for party switching was in northeastern Pennsylvania &#8212; in particular, Carbon, Lackawanna and Luzerne counties &#8212; as a percentage of total registered voters, according to an Associated Press analysis.Two counties in northern Pennsylvania, Lycoming and Clinton, and two counties near Pittsburgh, Fayette and Greene, rounded out the counties reporting the highest proportion of voter registration switching. Those counties also led Pennsylvania with the highest percentages of voters becoming Republicans, according to AP&#8217;s analysis.Meanwhile, in every county, more people became Republican than Democrat, except in Philadelphia and Centre, Delaware and Montgomery counties.Counties are still processing new voter registration records, and have until April 18 to submit final numbers to the state.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By MARC LEVYAssociated Press</bylineMeta></div>

Voter party switching sows primary intrigue in Pennsylvania