About 43.5% of Philly voters turned out. Here's the gap between Council districts

About 43.5% of Philadelphia's registered voters cast a ballot in Tuesday's midterm election, according to unofficial figures posted by the City Commissioners. As of their 10:25 a.m. update Wednesday, 480,398 ballots had been counted out of 1,104,061 registered voters, with 1,694 of 1,703 divisions reporting (turnout details).

Turnout decides whose priorities reach City Hall. The same voters who chose a governor and legislators also approved two changes to the city charter, and the gaps between neighborhoods were wide: in some wards, two of every three voters turned out, and in others, fewer than one in four.

Compared with 2022

| | 2022 midterm | 2026 so far | |---|---|---| | Registered voters | 1,072,129 | 1,104,061 | | Ballots cast | 507,992 | 480,398 | | Turnout | 47.4% | 43.5% | | Mail ballots | 128,948 | 94,892 | | Provisional ballots | 11,184 | 0 so far |

Sources: City Commissioners' 2022 results page, last updated Nov. 22, 2022, and 2026 unofficial results.

The comparison isn't even yet. The 2022 figures include provisional ballots added after Election Day; 2026's don't. If this year's provisional count lands near 2022's, turnout would end up around 44.5%, still below 2022. Mail voting is clearly down: mail ballots are about 20% of this year's count so far, compared with about 25% in 2022.

What our records add: turnout by Council district

The commissioners publish turnout for every division. We matched each division to its Council district using the city's division and 2024 district boundaries, by each division's center point, so these are close estimates.

| District | Member | Turnout | Mail share | |---|---|---|---| | 1 | Mark Squilla | 48.4% | 20.5% | | 2 | Kenyatta Johnson | 46.4% | 20.5% | | 3 | Jamie Gauthier | 40.2% | 16.4% | | 4 | Curtis Jones Jr. | 48.2% | 20.7% | | 5 | Jeffery Young Jr. | 40.9% | 19.4% | | 6 | Mike Driscoll | 38.9% | 18.6% | | 7 | Quetcy Lozada | 31.0% | 14.2% | | 8 | Cindy Bass | 45.9% | 21.8% | | 9 | Anthony Phillips | 46.3% | 21.1% | | 10 | Brian J. O'Neill | 46.5% | 21.4% |

• The 1st and 4th districts had the highest turnout, each above 48%.
• The 7th District, covering parts of North Philadelphia and Kensington, had the lowest, at 31%, and also the smallest share of mail voters.
• The 5th District has the most registered voters, about 131,000, but turned out at under 41%.

By ward

The commissioners' ward figures show:

• Highest: the 9th Ward (67.1%), 22nd (61.4%), 15th (59.6%) and 2nd (58.2%).
• Lowest: the 7th Ward (24.0%), 43rd (28.4%), 33rd (28.4%) and 37th (28.9%).

The 62nd Ward had reported only about 88% of its divisions at the 10:25 a.m. update, and six other wards were not yet complete, so those numbers will move.

Why it matters for Council

Every one of Council's 17 seats, and the mayor's office, is on the ballot in 2027. Midterm turnout is a rough guide to who shows up in each district. In the 2027 primary, a district race can be decided by a much smaller group than the one that voted Tuesday.

What's next

• Friday, Nov. 6: The commissioners begin the official count, including provisional ballots (canvass notice).
• Nov. 9 and Nov. 10: Deadlines for mail voters fixing ID problems and for military and overseas ballots to arrive. Our explainer has the details.
• We will update these figures when the count is certified.