Turnout appears at first glance to be stronger this year in Philadelphia for the closely watched midterm primaries than it was in the off-year election last November, according to a blog that analyzes voter data.
Sixty Six Wards, which has predicted turnout based on voter-provided data in previous elections, predicted on Tuesday afternoon that the primary election would likely exceed last year's general election in overall turnout in the city.
But the blog cautioned that more data is needed for better analysis.
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Nothing is official until all the ballots are counted by the City Commissioners' Office, which can't begin tallying polling place votes until the polls close at 8 p.m.
About 105,000 mail-in ballots were sent out to voters by last Thursday's deadline for requesting one, according to the City Commissioner's Office. That's about 2,000 ballots less than the number sent out in last November's general election.
District Attorney Larry Krasner's re-election led to decent turnout in an off-year election that generally attracts fewer voters than presidential elections and congressional midterm elections.
Decision 2020
The latest news on the 2020 presidential election
This year is a midterm year, and two major races are on ballots: open races for Pennsylvania governor and a seat representing the state in the U.S. Senate.
Outgoing Gov. Tom Wolf is not allowed to run for a third term and U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey is resigning.
Turnout will definitely pale in comparison to the presidential election in 2020. Philadelphia voters cast more ballots in that election than in any election since 1984, according to official results.
The city overwhelmingly voted for President Joe Biden, by a margin of 81% to 19%, compared to former President Donald Trump.
The strong turnout is credited with helping Biden win Pennsylvania, which in turn secured the presidency for the Democrat.
