Dems By the Numbers

The Union County Board of Elections has posted the final affiliation stats before the primary. There are 14,309 registered Democrats eligible to vote on June 6.

As everyone must know by now, four Democrats want to be mayor, three want the Fourth Ward City Council seat and three are vying for a one-year unexpired term representing the Second & Third Wards at-large.

Your last chance to hear the candidates is 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Emerson Community School when the Plainfield League of Women Voters holds a forum. If you can't make the forum, you can review the candidates online at the LWV website. (Click the link)

Broken down, all 14,309 Democrats are eligible to vote for mayor in the primary. For the Fourth Ward seat, 2,552 Democrats are eligible, and 8,329 can vote for the Second & Third Wards at-large seat.

Turnout is generally much lower than the number of those eligible to vote. In the 2016 primary, turnout among the city's 34 voting districts ranged from a low of under 23 percent to a high of over 46 percent.

Before these final numbers, it appeared that the total of all registered voters had dropped by 864 from the 2016 general election. That number now is down to 779.

For all the rhetoric leading up to the primary, the thing that really counts is making sure the voters get to the polls on June 6. Some people may already have voted by mail, but most vote in person. You can bet candidates will be offering  reminders and rides to get out the vote on June 6. In the not too distant past, "street money" and vouchers for free drinks were also used to convince people to step into the voting booth.
.
You should soon get your sample ballot. Note your polling place and review the candidates. And go vote on June 6!