Low voter turnout expected in Philadelphia

Tuesday's general election is shaping up as a chance for Philadelphia voters to prove cynics wrong - by showing up at the city's 1,687 polling places in large numbers.

Trouble is, no one really expects that to happen.

With only one statewide judicial contest on the ballot and routine-looking reelection bids by two city officeholders, District Attorney Seth Williams and Controller Alan Butkovitz, most authorities are predicting extremely light turnout among Philadelphia's one million-odd registered voters, perhaps somewhere around 10 percent.

"It's unfortunate it's that low, but that's what all the signals point to," said Ellen Kaplan, vice president of the nonpartisan Committee of 70, which monitored city elections for decades. "When one in 10 voters comes out, it's not a very happy statement about the voters' interest in the election."

The polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m., though anyone standing in line at the end should be accommodated.

Those voting for the first time at a polling place will be required to show identification, but the more stringent demands of Pennsylvania's Voter ID law - the subject of an ongoing court battle - will not be in place.

Voters may be asked to show drivers' licenses or other government-issued photo ID cards, but they'll be allowed to vote whether they have them or not.

In Philadelphia, where less than 10 percent of registered voters went to the polls in the May primary, Republican D.A. candidate Daniel A. Alvarez is trying to unseat Williams as the city's top prosecutor, and Republican Terrence J. Tracy Jr. hopes to deny Butkovitz a third term as city controller.

But neither race has sparked much attention and the Democrats' voter registration edge of better than 6 to 1 is likely to carry the day at the polls.

The sole statewide race is for a seat on the state Superior Court, between Republican Vic Stabile, who runs the Harrisburg office of the Dilworth Paxton law firm, and Democrat John McVay, who is an Allegheny County Common Pleas Court judge.

The chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Ronald D. Castille, leads a list of 22 appellate and trial judges seeking retention for new terms on the bench. Sitting judges run for retention on a yes-no basis without party designation.

Nine candidates are vying to fill seven seats on Philadelphia Common Pleas Court. The only nominees for three vacancies on Municipal Court are three Democrats.

The sole referendum question on the Philadelphia ballot asks voters' permission to borrow $94.7 million to pay for repairs and upgrades to streets, parks, pools, riverfronts, computer systems, police stations and other city facilities.

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