Very few voters are deciding local races in PA. We break it down the top 50 towns
Editor's note: this analysis was performed using a copy of the voter rolls updated by the Pennsylvania Department of State on Oct. 16, 2023. Each voter's registration date was used to determine how many municipal elections they could have voted in since 2015. The number of times each voter was noted to have voted in a municipal election was then total and divided by the elections they could have voted in to find the participation rate. This list does not represent the election turnout for any election, merely an estimate of how many times each voter has cast a ballot. Municipalities with fewer than 1,500 voters were excluded for privacy reasons.
One of the most important choices potential voters in Pennsylvania will make on Nov. 7 won’t be who they vote for but whether they choose to cast a ballot at all.
About 94% of the state’s more than 8.6 million registered voters have been able to vote in at least one of the last four municipal elections. Nearly 4.3 million of those voters, or 52%, chose the couch over the ballot box in local elections every time.
While less than half of Pennsylvania voters have participated in at least one of the last four municipal elections, few turn out consistently.
Out of 6.1 million currently registered voters who have been on the rolls since November 2015, 18% voted in just one municipal election; 13% voted in two elections; 12% in three years; and 15% have voted in every municipal election possible.
While those figures can be daunting for the context of statewide elections, local races are the heart of a municipal election and small-town voters tend to buck state trends.
In Newtown Borough, Bucks County, and Norwegian Township, Schuylkill County, voters on average have turned out for half of the last four municipal elections.
GOP, other voters grown since Primary: In Pa., two major voter groups have grown since the primary. One has shrunk.
That means if you ask one of Newtown’s 1,994 voters or Norwegian’s 1,662 voters how many municipal elections they have voted in recently, the answer will probably be two.
Democrats and Republicans in both towns have a participation rate just slightly higher than the town average, though Democrats have a slight lead over Republicans in each.
Here’s a breakdown of the top 50 municipalities for municipal participation rates in 17 counties across Pennsylvania.
The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 7 for in-person voting and mail-ballots must be received by your county’s Board of Elections office by 8 p.m. on Election Day to count.
1. Norwegian Township, Schuylkill County
Total Voters: 1,662 Average voter participation: 50% GOP participation: 51% Dem participation: 55% Other voter participation:28%
2. Newtown Borough, Bucks County
Total Voters: 1,994Average voter participation: 50%GOP participation: 52%Dem participation: 53%Other voter participation:36%
3. East Nantmeal Township, Chester County
Total Voters: 1,361Average voter participation: 48%GOP participation: 53%Dem participation: 50%Other voter participation:27%
4. Center Township, Indiana County
Total Voters: 2,538Average voter participation: 47%GOP participation: 44%Dem participation: 56%Other voter participation:24%
5. Swarthmore Borough, Delaware County
Total Voters: 4,955Average voter participation: 46%GOP participation: 42%Dem participation: 50%Other voter participation:24%
6. White Township, Indiana County
Total Voters: 8,550Average voter participation: 45%GOP participation: 48%Dem participation: 48%Other voter participation:25%
7. Branch Township, Schuylkill County
Total Voters: 1,196Average voter participation: 45%GOP participation: 43%Dem participation: 53%Other voter participation:22%
8. Cherryhill Township, Indiana County
Total Voters: 1,472Average voter participation: 45%GOP participation: 46%Dem participation: 49%Other voter participation:30%
9. Springfield Township, Delaware County
Total Voters: 18,129Average voter participation: 45%GOP participation: 51%Dem participation: 42%Other voter participation:23%
10. Nether Providence Township, Delaware County
Total Voters: 10,226Average voter participation: 44%GOP participation: 46%Dem participation: 48%Other voter participation:28%
11. Middletown Township, Delaware County
Total Voters: 11,762Average voter participation: 44%GOP participation: 49%Dem participation: 45%Other voter participation:27%
12. Upper Providence Township, Delaware County
Total Voters: 8,164Average voter participation: 44%GOP participation: 48%Dem participation: 46%Other voter participation:25%
13. Yardley Borough, Bucks County
Total Voters: 2,168Average voter participation: 44%GOP participation: 48%Dem participation: 47%Other voter participation:29%
14. Rayne Township, Indiana County
Total Voters: 1,689Average voter participation: 43%GOP participation: 45%Dem participation: 46%Other voter participation:23%
15. London Britain Township, Chester County
Total Voters: 2,423Average voter participation: 43%GOP participation: 44%Dem participation: 47%Other voter participation:32%
16. New Hope Borough, Bucks County
Total Voters: 2,177Average voter participation: 43%GOP participation: 42%Dem participation: 49%Other voter participation:28%
17. Haverford Township, Delaware County
Total Voters: 36,628Average voter participation: 43%GOP participation: 46%Dem participation: 45%Other voter participation:25%
18. Armstrong Township, Indiana County
Total Voters: 1,677Average voter participation: 43%GOP participation: 45%Dem participation: 46%Other voter participation:24%
19. Jay Township, Elk County
Total Voters: 1,200Average voter participation: 43%GOP participation: 44%Dem participation: 48%Other voter participation:16%
20. Shippen Township, Cameron County
Total Voters: 1,266Average voter participation: 43%GOP participation: 44%Dem participation: 46%Other voter participation:31%
21. Jefferson Township, Greene County
Total Voters: 1,598Average voter participation: 42%GOP participation: 38%Dem participation: 51%Other voter participation:22%
22. Woodward Township, Clinton County
Total Voters: 1,579Average voter participation: 42%GOP participation: 41%Dem participation: 51%Other voter participation:17%
23. Berlin Borough, Somerset County
Total Voters: 1,276Average voter participation: 42%GOP participation: 45%Dem participation: 42%Other voter participation:14%
24. Narberth Borough, Montgomery County
Total Voters: 3,276Average voter participation: 42%GOP participation: 42%Dem participation: 46%Other voter participation:20%
25. East Union Township, Schuylkill County
Total Voters: 1,236Average voter participation: 42%GOP participation: 47%Dem participation: 40%Other voter participation:24%
26. Burrell Township, Indiana County
Total Voters: 1,794Average voter participation: 42%GOP participation: 42%Dem participation: 46%Other voter participation:23%
27. Laflin Borough, Luzerne County
Total Voters: 1,108Average voter participation: 41%GOP participation: 41%Dem participation: 46%Other voter participation:19%
28. Brothersvalley Township, Somerset County
Total Voters: 1,564Average voter participation: 41%GOP participation: 44%Dem participation: 40%Other voter participation:17%
29. Greene Township, Erie County
Total Voters: 3,216Average voter participation: 41%GOP participation: 42%Dem participation: 47%Other voter participation:19%
30. Media Borough, Delaware County
Total Voters: 4,451Average voter participation: 41%GOP participation: 41%Dem participation: 46%Other voter participation:23%
31. Morgan Township, Greene County
Total Voters: 1,453Average voter participation: 41%GOP participation: 38%Dem participation: 50%Other voter participation:17%
32. Summit Hill Borough, Carbon County
Total Voters: 1,900Average voter participation: 41%GOP participation: 39%Dem participation: 51%Other voter participation:14%
33. Franklin Township, Greene County
Total Voters: 3,100Average voter participation: 41%GOP participation: 42%Dem participation: 47%Other voter participation:12%
34. Jim Thorpe Borough, Carbon County
Total Voters: 3,090Average voter participation: 41%GOP participation: 41%Dem participation: 47%Other voter participation:18%
35. Aspinwall Borough, Allegheny County
Total Voters: 2,100Average voter participation: 41%GOP participation: 40%Dem participation: 45%Other voter participation:24%
36. Harborcreek Township, Erie County
Total Voters: 10,869Average voter participation: 41%GOP participation: 42%Dem participation: 46%Other voter participation:19%
37. Butler Township, Schuylkill County
Total Voters: 2,449Average voter participation: 41%GOP participation: 43%Dem participation: 44%Other voter participation:20%
38. Upper Makefield Township, Bucks County
Total Voters: 7,370Average voter participation: 41%GOP participation: 43%Dem participation: 46%Other voter participation:25%
39. Franklin Township, Chester County
Total Voters: 3,296Average voter participation: 41%GOP participation: 45%Dem participation: 43%Other voter participation:27%
40. Doylestown Borough, Bucks County
Total Voters: 6,454Average voter participation: 41%GOP participation: 40%Dem participation: 47%Other voter participation:24%
41. Clarks Green Borough, Lackawanna County
Total Voters: 1,204Average voter participation: 41%GOP participation: 36%Dem participation: 47%Other voter participation:20%
42. Oakmont Borough, Allegheny County
Total Voters: 5,189Average voter participation: 41%GOP participation: 40%Dem participation: 45%Other voter participation:24%
43. Solebury Township, Bucks County
Total Voters: 7,345Average voter participation: 40%GOP participation: 40%Dem participation: 47%Other voter participation:25%
44. Edgmont Township, Delaware County
Total Voters: 3,558Average voter participation: 40%GOP participation: 42%Dem participation: 45%Other voter participation:23%
45. Stonycreek Township, Somerset County
Total Voters: 1,415Average voter participation: 40%GOP participation: 43%Dem participation: 39%Other voter participation:19%
46. Shade Township, Somerset County
Total Voters: 1,661Average voter participation: 40%GOP participation: 37%Dem participation: 51%Other voter participation:18%
47. West Wheatfield Township, Indiana County
Total Voters: 1,198Average voter participation: 40%GOP participation: 42%Dem participation: 46%Other voter participation:16%
48. Jessup Borough, Lackawanna County
Total Voters: 3,186Average voter participation: 40%GOP participation: 30%Dem participation: 48%Other voter participation:12%
49. Brown Township, Mifflin County
Total Voters: 2,303Average voter participation: 40%GOP participation: 42%Dem participation: 41%Other voter participation:21%
50. Scott Township, Lackawanna County
Total Voters: 3,525Average voter participation: 40%GOP participation: 42%Dem participation: 43%Other voter participation:16%
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Top 50 PA towns for active voters for local municipal elections
