Dean Carlson said:

"3)  Precinct 13-7 had highest voter turnout, nearly 65 percent.  A
precinct  in 2 and a Precinct in 5 had the lowest at 19.3 percent. 
Curiously both  those wards were virtual ties.  If Cherryhomes or Gordon
had been able to organize those precincts in their favor, who knows,
they could have been  elected.  "
----------------------------------
I can't speak to the Ward 5 stats, but my spreadsheet on Ward 2 has
Prec. 4 at ** 12% ** turnout, and Prec. 10 at 19%.  Prec. 4 is primarily
UM east bank--Stadium Village, Fraterity Row, the "Super Block" of
dorms, and some traditional wood frame multi-unit housing.  

After the election I wondered about the low turnout in light of the
extraordinary efforts that Cam Gordon's excellent campaign put into
getting students involved and voting.  Here is what I learned.

2-4 had 3530 voters preregistered on the morning of election day.  This
made it the "biggest" precinct in the ward, with supposedly 19% of the
voters in the ward.  It dwarfs Marcy Holmes 2-1 and 2-2 which had 1550
and 2522 pre-registered respectively, or Prospect 2-5 with 1584, which
precinct Paul took with a 200 vote margin.  And even though **232**
people (students?) in 2-4 registered on election day, in toto only 465
people voted there, and 2-4 had the lowest turnout of the ward. 
(465/(3530+232) = 12%)  Half the people who voted in 2-4 registered the
same day.

What it says to me is that the 3530 pre-registration number is very
misleading.  Many of those "pre-registered voters" may have long since
moved out of this highly transient area, and aren't able or eligble to
vote there anymore.  To calculate a "turnout" percentage based on people
who are no longer around is misleading and gives the Prec. a bad rap.  

Alan Shilepsky
Downtown
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