Commissioner Schmidt’s Report Sheds Light on ’14 Voting

by Tony West

More than two-thirds of Philadelphia’s residents were registered to vote at the Nov. 4, 2014 general election. But only a little more than one-third of these people actually bothered to vote in a hotly contested gubernatorial race which burning issues like Philadelphia’s school funding on the table.

This and other curious facts can be gleaned from City Commission Vice Chair Al Schmidt’s “Annual Report on Election and Voter Registration Activity to the People of Philadelphia 2014.” Using official City Commission data, Commissioner Schmidt annually compiles a detailed breakdown of each year’s primary- and general-election activity by wards. It is a 58-page trove of facts that come in handy for nitty-gritty political operatives of all stripes.

CITY COMMISSIONER Al Schmidt has resumed practice of issuing detailed annual reports on Phila.’s voting during 2014, ward by ward.

“The City Commissioners’ Office issued yearly reports starting in 1936, but discontinued publishing them in 2004,” Schmidt noted. Schmidt personally resumed this practice in 2013.

While voter registration has increased substantially in the last 20 years – from 797,204 to 1,032,322 – voter turnout has dropped – from 413,287 to 379,046. So voter-registration drives don’t necessarily create new voters.

Primary voter turnout is a key test of the power of the Philadelphia vote in statewide primaries. Here, overall turnout has been waning – from 39% in 1994, when State Rep. Dwight Evans (D-N. Phila.) was one of seven candidates vying for the top Dem spot, to 32%, when Philadelphia’s former Mayor Ed Rendell successfully won the nomination, to just 19% in 2010 and again last year, even though favorite son State Sen. Mike Stack (D-Northeast) was on the ballot.

That said, Philadelphia votes still matter. In the May 20, 2014 primary, some wards produced stronger, others less so.

On the Democratic side, the 9^th & 22^nd Wards (Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy) led the city with 41% and 36% turnout respectively. The 63^rd Ward (Fox Chase and Bustleton) came in third at 33%.

At the other end of the spectrum, University City’s 9^th Ward delivered only 9% turnout. Its registration numbers are high but its large student population has other things on its mind besides politics in late May. The 10^th Ward in the River Wards saw only 10% turnout and its neighbors the 45^th Ward and 33^rd Ward only a little better at 13%.

Since there were no contests, the Republican Party primary turnout was a measure of sheer political enthusiasm. Overall only 12% of Republicans bothered to vote. But 17% of them did in the 22^nd Ward, as well as in the 56^th, 63^rd, 64^th and 65^th Wards (Far Northeast).

But some wards are bigger than others. In total primary votes, Cedarbrook’s 50^th Ward led the city with 6,060 Democrats mustered to the polls. If anyone is wondering why its Ward Leader Councilwoman Marian Tasco is a power in Democratic Party politics, now they know. Rondal Couser’s 22^nd Ward and Congressman Bob Brady’s 34^th Ward (Overbrook) delivered more than 5,000 Democrats.

General-election turnout is also not as strong as it was a generation ago; in fact it was lower than any gubernatorial election since the 1998 sleeper.

One reason may be the growing number of third-party and independent registered voters. Obviously they do not vote in primaries; they are also less likely to vote in general elections than a member of a major party.

But 40% of Democrats turned out on Nov. 4, 2014, a day that saw Tom Wolf and Mike Stack carry the city with a 288,271 lead over incumbent Tom Corbett. Wolf carried the state with a 344,844 margin. Philadelphia Republicans also voted at a 37% rate, so Corbett’s loss wasn’t for their lack of trying.

Fueled perhaps by a lively three-way State Senate race, Northwest Philadelphia was a hotbed of Democratic intensity. The three highest voting rates were in the 9^th Ward of Dan Muroff at 59%, the 50^th Ward at 56% and the neighboring 10^th Ward of Isabella Fitzgerald at 53%.

Kensington’s 7^th and 33^rd Wards finished last and third from last at 18% and 22% respectively. The 27^th Ward was second from last at 20%.

Northwest Philly also delivered the big votes for Democrats this year. Although West Philly’s 34^th Ward led the pack with 10,971 and Southwest Philly’s huge 40^th Ward was third at 9,672, the 50^th Ward was second with 10,362 and its neighboring 10^th, 21^st and 22^nd Wards produced more than 8,000 Democratic voters each.

There were no local races of great interest last fall. Indeed, although all State House members and half the State Senate members were on the ballot, only six of the Philadelphia Delegation candidates faced any opposition. Which raises interesting questions: How do you get people to spend an extra useless second to cast a vote for an unopposed candidate – and who was good at that?

There is one standout. Most State Representative candidates won with 9,000 to 18,000 votes. But in the 200^th Legislative Dist. In vote-mad Cedarbrook, State Rep. Rochelle Parker won with 24, 726 to 0.

Now, that’s support.

Commissioner Schmidt’s full annual report can be read at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B89fs7RzQYGTYXRPemZfOFJlcFk/view?pli=1.

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