Participation Matters: An Analysis of the 2013 Municipal Primary Results in Spring City Borough

As a non-government official, I have attended all 5 of the Spring City Borough Council Meetings in 2013 so far, because I believe that as a resident of the Borough I should keep myself informed about what is going on in local government, but also to show that I care about what happens or doesn’t happen where I live. Additionally, I hope that consistent attendance at these meetings will also show the Councilors that their efforts are noticed and appreciated.  

As a candidate for Borough Councilor, each ballot cast, regardless of political party, is encouraging to me because it shows that there are people in our community who have an interest in civic engagement by voting for and helping to select the local government officials.

I know that voter turnout is typically low for local primaries but I was surprised to see how low turnout was countywide, but specifically in Spring City. Per data gleaned from the Chester County Voter Services website, there are approximately 1,930 registered voters in the Borough of Spring City.  The ballots cast in yesterday’s primary totaled 203 for the entire Borough! Of those 203 ballots, 64% (or 129 ballots) were cast by Republicans and 36% (or 74 ballots) by Democrats (see Chart). By these numbers alone, you would think there was a considerably lower percentage (like a difference of 20%+) of registered Democrats vs. Republicans. Per my estimation, the percentage is 42% Democrats to 58% Republicans, which is a difference of approximately 16%. In yesterday's election, only 74 out of 807 Democrats and 129 out of 1,123 Republicans decided to participate which admittedly to me is a little disconcerting. 

Consider this blog post a call to renew civic engagement in Spring City. Ladies, honor the Suffragettes and remember that 1920 was really not that long ago. Parents, vote and make an impact in the decision making process on behalf of your children. Regardless of what political party you belong to, please remember to vote on November 5, 2013, your participation really does matter!