Voter turnout in Philly and statewide dips again in mid-term election

Voter turnout in Philly was dismal. Statewide, the low turnout in a governor's race set a modern record.

Tom Wolf won election as governor in an election in which a modern record low for voter turnout was set.
Hillary Petrozziello

Voter turnout on Election Day last week proved once again that midterm elections in Philly are an exercise in apathy.

With the "Battle of the Toms" — Tom Corbett and Tom Wolf in the race for governor — at the top of the ballot and pre-election polls showing Wolf with a sizable lead, only 36 percent of registered city voters went to the polls on Nov. 4, down from the also-anemic 41 percent who bothered to vote in the last off-year election, 2010.

That year, though, there was a tight U.S. Senatorial race topping the ballot along with the gubernatorial race. There were 3,230 more votes cast for the senatorial candidates than the gubernatorial candidates, suggesting that many city voters came out to support Joe Sestak or the ultimate winner, Pat Toomey, yet didn't feel the need to also vote for Corbett or Dan Onorato.

This year, early anecdotal reports suggested that turnout was up, on an unseasonably warm day in Philadelphia and across the region, but those trends did not continue.

Statewide, voter turnout was also just 36 percent — making it the lowest turnout in a gubernatorial election recorded in the commonwealth's online database, which goes back to 1998. That year, Tom Ridge won re-election with 41 percent of registered voters going to the polls.

New Jersey, despite similar early reports of good turnout this year, also posted poor numbers. New Jersey had its lowest turnout ever for a general election, with just 31 percent voting. There, Cory Booker's re-election to the Senate topped the ballot.

With over $3.7 billion spent on the election nationally, 2014 was the most expensive midterm campaign ever.