Voter Turnout

When it comes to voter turnout, the picture has grown bleaker each year, with little sign of positive change. But a report released today by the Census Bureau offers a tantalizing tidbit. Bucking the steady decline in voter turnout, more African-American voters nationwide cast ballots in the 1998 elections than in 1994, the last nonpresidential year. With their reported turnout increasing from 37 percent to 40 percent, African-Americans were the only ethnic group nationwide to show higher turnout during that period, according to the survey of 50,000 residents conducted two weeks after the elections.

Early on, most politicos were pegging Philadelphia voter turnout in Tuesday's primary at 10 percent to 20 percent - and they were right in the ballpark. With 96.44 percent of the vote counted as of midday Wednesday, 17.6 percent of total registered voters (Democrats and Republicans) had come out to cast ballots in the mayoral race. Those numbers may be dismal, considering that tens of thousands of people failed to vote. But consider this: In 2003, when John F. Street was seeking reelection and had no primary opponent, only about 13 percent of voters weighed in on the mayoral primary.

More voters went to the polls for the school board elections this year, and they took their anger with them. As participation in Tuesday's board elections shot up to about 18 percent statewide - an increase over last year's voter turnout of 15.5 percent - so did the disapproval rate of school budgets. Statewide, 32.2 percent of budgets were rejected this year, up 4.5 percentage points from last year. Approval of the annual spending plans in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties fell below the state number.

VOTER turnout in the Philadelphia region could make the difference in delivering Pennsylvania's 21 electoral votes to John Kerry. Here's what you can do: 1. Register to Vote. Pick up a voter registration form in a state store, library or post office, or log on to www.dos.state.pa.us/voting and print out the form that you fill in by hand. Sign it and mail it to your county board of elections. 2. Get others to register to vote: Talk to you friends and relatives about the importance of voting.

State Sen. Williams thanks 17th District voters I'd like to thank the voters of the 17th Senatorial District for their confidence in me and for our great victory. Their vote allows me to continue to work on their behalf in the district and in Harrisburg. I return to Harrisburg and to the Senate with an energized sense of purpose. I will continue to work hard for a brighter future for our citizens, for educational excellence, economic vitality, affordable and safe child care, medical accessibility and for solutions to the medical malpractice insurance crisis.

VOTER TURNOUT in Philadelphia and its suburbs will make the difference in adding Pennsylvania's 21 electoral votes to John Kerry in November. We urge you to register to vote, and to mobilize others. Here's what you can do. 1. Register to vote. Pick up a voter registrtion form in a state store, library or post office or log on to www.dos.state.pa.us/voting. The registration deadline is Oct. 4, but do it now. 2. Mobilize others. One way is through the National Organization for Women's "10 for change," a program that NOW has dubbed "armchair activism.

WASHINGTON - Making history, America's blacks voted at higher rates than whites in 2012, lifting Democrat Barack Obama to victory amid voter apathy, particularly among young people, new census data show. Despite increasing population, the number of white voters declined for the first time since 1996. Blacks were the only race or ethnic group to show an increase in voter turnout in November, most notably in the Midwest and Southeast, the Census Bureau said Wednesday. The analysis, based on a sample survey of voters last year, is viewed as the best source of government data on turnout by race and ethnicity.

Back in February, we asked why voters in the city's Eighth councilmanic district should have to wait until November to pick a replacement for the late Herb DeBeary, who died Dec. 15. The answer has finally come - because that's the way Council President John Street wants it, and the City Charter lets him get his way. Period. There seems no interpretation of Monday's federal court decision upholding Mr. Street's position - that, as Council president, he can call a special election sooner (the May 10 primary)

In their campaigns for the Democratic nomination for governor and the U.S. Senate, Edward G. Rendell and Bob Edgar want to do more than merely win by big margins in their home base of Southeastern Pennsylvania. They also are betting that Democrats in this area will rally to their candidacies by turning out to vote in Tuesday's primary election at levels much higher than normal. If history is any guide, that is a bad bet. When it comes to the crucial issue of voter turnout, the Philadelphia area is the paper tiger of state politics.

Jon S. Corzine, the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in New Jersey, is bankrolling what officials say would be an unprecedented voter-turnout operation, staffed by thousands of workers and costing a few million dollars in a bid to push himself over the finish line Tuesday. For the last year, Corzine has embarked on the biggest personal spending spree in the history of American politics, aside from Ross Perot's. With his election prospects still in doubt despite spending nearly $60 million, he is not about to close his checkbook now. While part of the money is being spent this week on canvassing and other preelection activities, a substantial portion will be in the form of street money, doled out to a small army of workers hired to get voters to the polls.