Low Voter Turn Out in Peekskill

Updated, Nov. 10, 9 a.m.: Board of Elections released the final results.

With 100 percent of Peelskill’s election districts reporting, the Westchester Conty Board of Elections shows that only 3,167 people voted in Tuesday's mayoral election. Foster won 1,834 votes and Washington received 1,333 votes. City council candidates received between 1,300 and 1,700 votes each, with the democrats leading, showing that about 1,500 people voted in that race.

With a population of 23,500 people, 18,290 are over the age of 18 and, those with citizenship, are eligible to vote. The 3,167 people who voted represent about 20 percent of the voting age population in Peekskill.

The population figures are estimated based on U.S. Census 2010 numbers. (The Census does not indicate how many non-citzens live in the city. This unknown number leaves a margin of error in these calculations.)

Only 10,500 people are registered to vote which means that about 30 percent of registered voters did vote.

Low voter turn out is not new to the city, but it has decreased over the last six years. See chart below for statistics on the last four mayoral elections, including this year's. Note that the population has increased over this time period while the number of voters have decreased:

Most voters Patch interviewed expressed true concern over issues, but few went into specifics. Several people admitted that they were going to "vote for the people they know personally," or expressed apathy. 

The elderly voters we spoke to said they have been democrats their whole lives and vote for their party no matter what.

"Let me tell you a story," said Jack Burns, an 87-year-old lifelong Peekskill resident and democrat. "My family came over here from Ireland in 1850. First they joined the Democratic Party, then they joined the police force, and then they got off the boat," Burns joked.

Parents with younger children who have lived in Peekskill for about the last ten years, had mixed opinions on the candidates. About half said they were happy with the current administration and the other half did not say which party they were voting for, but said they wanted to see change and were worried about taxes and schools.

To read more from voters, read our article

Editor's Note: This article originally reported only the total population in Peekskill in relation to the number of voters in this year's election. Information on the number of registered voters and total population eligible to vote has been added.