Low Voter Turnout Reported Throughout 21st Ward Tuesday Morning

Scott Righter, a Republican committee man for the 30 division, said there are usually a dozen people waiting to vote outside when the polls open. This Election Day, there were only three.

"It's been very light," Righter said.

Just before 8 a.m., the committee man reported that a total of 27 people had come out to vote, 19 in the 5th division and 8 in the 30th.

And the Shawmont location wasn't the only one. As of 10 a.m., the only saw four voters out of 500 registered in the division.

"We usually have a rush in the morning but that didn't happen this year," Democratic committee man Todd Farally said. "I don't know if it will pick up, but it definitely shouldn't be like this."

About a block away, reported 14 voters more than three hours after the polls opened.

"This is very light," one woman said, adding that she believes the polling sites in Manayunk don't do as well believe of the community's transient student population.

"I live on Cresson and there are four apartments that are constantly changing," she said. "It's a revolving door around here."

Around 10:30 a.m. 10 people had voted at St. Josephats, 44 at and .

At the , where divisions 20 and 21 were moved this year, the number was 16 on one side of the room and 38 on the other.

"We're at about 2 percent," Ken Gilliard, with the 20th division, said. "We've had 16 people out of 495."

But Gilliard and Edmund Spaeetch both said they're hoping the numbers increase as people begin getting off of work.

Across the room Majority Inspector Naomi Paskin-Parsons said she hoping for 25 percent voter turnout in the 21st division. As of 11 a.m., they had just reached 6 percent.

"We've had 38 people out of 644 voters, it's very, very low," she said, adding that her division usually sees the biggest number of voters in the morning.

Paskin-Parsons attributes the low numbers to the change in location (residents of the 21st division used to vote at the Roxborough Development Corporation), the lack of advertisment about the change and the lack of parking available because of the construction on Ridge Avenue.

"I think we're going to be hurting even more in the evening," she said. "I don't think we're going to see more than 100 people come out."