2025 Montco Primary Marks Reversal In Voting Trend: What To Know

NORRISTOWN, PA — The primary elections on Tuesday in Montgomery County drew a low turnout even for an off-year primary, falling short of the participation in both 2023 and 2021, according to the latest unofficial results Wednesday morning.

A total of 130,292 Montgomery County residents cast votes on Tuesday, down from 162,926 in 2021 and 143,832 in 2023.

The Tuesday count does not yet include military or overseas ballots. It includes 76,446 in-person ballots and 53,846 mail-ins. All 428 of Montgomery County's precincts reported by about 2:15 a.m. Wednesday morning.

The low numbers come even as the county has implemented a variety of get out of the vote tools over the past year, many of them designed to improve turnout for the 2024 presidential election.

"I've been a winner and I've been a loser, and the most important thing is that we commit to doing the good work of democracy," Commissioner Neil Makhija said Tuesday. "Connecting with our neighbors, listening, learning, organizing, and taking action to make for a better future for our community."

Democratic primary participation was only slightly down — about 88,000 votes compared to 90,000 and 92,000 in the past two off-year primaries — but Republican numbers took a more significant hit. They've dropped from about 61,000 in 2021, to 50,000 in 2023, to 39,648 on Tuesday.

This comes even as the county's population has grown, and the percentage of residents who are registered to vote has increased.

Of course, primary voter turnout is also a reflection of the attention, controversy, and importance of specific primaries. Many primary races this year were uncontested in Montgomery County, which likely contributed to the lower numbers. Significantly higher numbers can be expected in the fall's general election. Still, the drop in participation is noteworthy.

See Patch's coverage of some key contested primaries in 2025 around the Montgomery County area:

• Lansdale Mayoral Race
• North Penn School Board
  
• Norristown Municipal Council
• Wissahickon School Board
• East Norriton Supervisor
  
• Towamencin Supervisors
  
• Phoenixville North Ward Borough Council Primary

Montgomery County's 2025 primary election results are available online here.