Data are in: Philly millennials said 'meh' to mayoral primary

Philadelphia's millennial population is good at registering to vote. But getting to the polls and pushing the button? Not so much.

Data from the city's May 19 primary show that while 321,342 Philadelphians between ages 18 and 34 were registered, only 38,686 voted. That's 12 percent, according to an analysis by City Commissioner Al Schmidt.

Schmidt, one of the three commissioners who oversee city elections, found what pols and political scientists have seen in U.S. elections for years: the older the voter, the more likely he or she is to vote.

Of those ages 35 and 49, more than 250,000 are registered; fewer than 59,000 voted on May 19, or 23 percent.

Baby boomers did a little better: Of 239,000 registered voters between ages 50 and 64, about 38 percent voted.

In a primary marked by an anemic overall turnout of about 27 percent - even though a new mayor is being elected this year - the voters with the highest turnout were age 65 and up.

But they are also the smallest group in Schmidt's rounding-up of voting data by age. Only 180,500 are registered. Of that number, about 81,000 voted, or 45 percent.

The numbers "seem consistent with previous voter turnout," Schmidt said.

The Republican commissioner also has a theory about why millennials have such poor voter turnout: college.

By law, a registered voter's name can only be purged from the voting rolls after seven years of not voting, or inactive status. So, if a student from elsewhere comes to Philadelphia for college and registers, then moves back home or to another state, the city's voter registration database will not necessarily pick up that change and take that name off the rolls.

"We have bloated voter rolls with voters who aren't here," Schmidt said, especially in the University City area, home to the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, and the University of the Sciences.

Broken down to smaller age groups, the lowest turnout Schmidt found in the data was for 22- to 25-year-olds, at 9 percent, and 26- to 29-year-olds, at 10. Voters 30 to 34 did better - 15 percent - which Schmidt said could reflect the more accurate voter rolls that emerge when former college students' inactive registrations are removed.

Nevertheless, he said, the numbers add up to weak voting citywide - "It's pretty clear it's not just college students."

Lisa Deeley, who won the Democratic primary for an open seat on the Board of City Commissioners, said on election night that she wanted to find ways to persuade more voters to vote.

"We can no longer be satisfied," Deeley said as the votes were counted, "with 10 and 12 percent turnouts."

@InqCVargas