Signs point to low turnout in city and suburban elections

It's the moment of truth.

More than 100 candidates for office in Philadelphia and its suburbs can do little more Tuesday than leave their fates up to voters, but just how many voters is the question.

Turnout is expected to be sparse throughout the region, with no competitive and attention-grabbing race inspiring people to get to the polls on what is forecast to be a less than ideal day weather-wise. Polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

"Historically, when the absentee-ballot count is low, that is pretty much a gauge of what is going to happen at the polls," said Carmelo Seminara, acting supervisor of elections at Philadelphia's City Commissioners' Office, which manages the election process.

The office received just 2,155 requests for absentee ballots for Tuesday's primary, less than half the number it received for the 2007 primary, when interest was considerably higher as five candidates sought to become the Democratic nominee for mayor. Turnout was more than 30 percent that year.

In Philadelphia, former City Councilman Michael Nutter, who won that 2007 primary and went on to become the city's 98th mayor, is running for the Democratic nomination for a second term against T. Milton Street Sr.

Although he aired no television commercials, Nutter in the campaign's closing days ran radio ads, participated in a Rittenhouse Square "pub crawl" and trolley tour with some of his endorsed Council candidates, and mailed voters' fliers. At least one flier assailed Street, the older brother of Nutter's predecessor and an ex-convict who spent 26 months in federal prison for failing to pay taxes, as "one of Philadelphia's biggest tax cheats."

Street's campaign has featured several motorcades through city neighborhoods, and he has attacked Nutter as "ignoring" the neediest populations - ex-offenders and poor people. Street will spend election night at the headquarters of AFSCME District Council 33, a city union that endorsed him.

Two Republican candidates, John Featherman and Karen Brown, also are running for mayor. While one will win the GOP nomination, they have little chance of leading the city given the 6-1 ratio of registered Democrats to Republicans in the city.

Far more contested are the races for City Council, which next year will include at least five new faces because of retirements. Four of those are for district council seats; one is for an at-large Republican position.

City voters will also elect a host of new judges and the first new sheriff since 1987. In addition, the race for three city commissioners spots is competitive for both parties, with challengers looking to oust long-time incumbents.

In an effort to prevent any voting problems on election day, District Attorney Seth Williams said Monday his office would have about 70 assistant district attorneys and Philadelphia County detectives in mobile units to respond to any potential problems at the polls.

Williams asked that any voters who feel threatened or intimidated when they go to vote should call the District Attorney's Office Voter Hotline at 215-686-9641. He said voters who are unable to vote because their names are not on the rolls should call 215-686-1590.

Voters who experience any problems at the polls should call the Committee of Seventy's election-day hotline at 1-866-OUR VOTE.

Williams pointed to the Eighth District City Council race as a site of potential problems.

"There is a City Council race with 14 different candidates . . . in the Eighth Councilmanic District," Williams said. "Often we find when there are very contentious races for committeeperson and City Council, there will be a lot of factions in those areas, and sometimes that leads to the perceived intimidation of voters. If that happens, people are urged to call the District Attorney's Hotline. . . . We don't want people to take these issues in their own hands literally or figuratively. We will go out and investigate."

Williams also recommended that voters with questions about any aspect of the voting process call the Committee of Seventy at 866-687-8683.

In the four suburban counties, voters will cast ballots for all countywide offices, including county commissioners, sheriff and district attorney, a handful of judgeships, and countless school board and municipal races.

Most of the party races are uncontested. In Montgomery County, District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman is seeking a second four-year term but faces no challenger for the Republican nomination. Nor are Democrats running.

The two most significant contested races are:

The Republican nominations for Bucks County commissioner, where four candidates are vying for two positions. The four are Charles H. Martin, Robert G. Loughery, Andrew L. Warren, and Jay Russell.

The GOP race for sheriff in Montgomery County, where Eileen Whalon Behr and Robert J. Durante seek the nomination.

The only statewide races on the primary ballot are for one vacancy each on Commonwealth and Superior Courts.