Turnout data show marginalized communities often have quietest voice in Allegheny County elections

Brandi Fisher of the Alliance for Police Accountability speaks at an Oct. 15 rally, standing in front of Tim Stevens (back left) and Dale Snyder. (Photo by Lilly Kubit/PublicSource) PA elections are likely to be close. Advocates hope to amplify the voices of the communities with the most at stake. by Charlie Wolfson and Ladimir Garcia, PublicSource … Continued The post Turnout data show marginalized communities often have quietest voice in Allegheny County elections appeared first on New Pittsburgh Courier.

Turnout data show marginalized communities often have quietest voice in Allegheny County elections

Brandi Fisher of the Alliance for Police Accountability speaks at an Oct. 15 rally, standing in front of Tim Stevens (back left) and Dale Snyder. (Photo by Lilly Kubit/PublicSource)

PA elections are likely to be close. Advocates hope to amplify the voices of the communities with the most at stake.

The issues that loom over Pennsylvania’s upcoming elections are monumental. The next governor will have sway over state laws on abortion, voting and labor. The next U.S. senator could decide partisan control of Congress. But the late stages of the campaign take place largely on the lowest level: Door-knockers, phone bankers and organizers try to squeeze as many votes as possible out of their political base.  

As the old political saying goes: It all comes down to turnout. 

In Allegheny County, voter turnout trends mirror the disparities and inequalities present in the region. Municipalities that have whiter populations tend to have higher voter turnout, and municipalities with lower median household income tend to have lower turnout. Some of the most marginalized and challenged communities in Southwestern Pennsylvania make the least noise at the ballot box.

 

“If you’re living week to week, if you’re living check to check, you don’t get to spend an awful lot of time navel gazing,” Flick said. “If you’re going to be a legitimately informed voter … that requires a lot of time and due diligence.”

At the high end of 2018 turnout, at 77%, was tiny Ben Avon Heights, just northwest of the city, where 97% of 400 residents are White and the median household income is triple that of the county. All of the county’s wealthiest enclaves had above-average turnout, while the poorest ones — headlined by shrinking rivertowns Braddock, Rankin, Homestead and McKeesport — each had turnout below 45%. 

Allegheny County’s turnout patterns are also largely correlated with race. The eight majority-minority municipalities each had below average turnout in 2018, with only one (Wilkinsburg) cracking 50%. The 10 lowest-turnout municipalities that year were home to 4% of the county’s overall population, but 14% of its Black population. 

Lack of progress and low information feeds low turnout

Leaders of local activist groups and municipal governments told PublicSource they think turnout is down in these areas because marginalized people are not seeing tangible results when they vote.

“Affluent people, most white middle-class folks, they see how their vote gets them what they want and helps their quality of life be better,” said local activist Brandi Fisher at an October rally in the Hill District aimed at getting low-income people to turn out in November. “Poor and Black and Brown people don’t see that.”

On the other hand, she pointed to recent presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, who she said won elections in 2008 and 2016, respectively, because they convinced groups of infrequent voters that their votes could actually spur change. 

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