While the excitement surrounding the upcoming presidential election may distract some student's attention away from the local candidates on the ballot, this excitement may end up affecting the outcome of these races.
"We are expecting a huge turnout and when this happens, a lot of funny things can happen," said Zachary Stalberg, president and CEO of the Committee of Seventy, a non-partisan organization for efficient and ethical politics around Philadelphia.
People have a tendency to vote by party affiliation down the ballot, "especially if there is enthusiasm about the person at the top of ticket," Stalberg added.
In addition to the presidential race, voters will also cast ballots for the state attorney general, auditor general, treasurer and General Assembly representative, as well as U.S. representative.
According to Stalberg, Tom Corbett, the current attorney general who is running for reelection, probably wants to run for governor in 2010, and how he does in this race could influence his ambitions.
Dawn Maglicco, director of Penn's Office of Governmental and Community Affairs, said the presidential election will be a "boost."
"People down the ballot will benefit from all the attention and excitement around the presidential election," she said.
Although a lot of people will be voting in these local elections, "people aren't thinking too much about local races," Stalberg said.
This includes Penn students.
Penn Leads the Vote executive board member and College senior Stephanie Simon said there is so much focus on the presidential race that Penn Leads the Vote has "so many other things to do" and isn't able to devote as much attention to local races as it was in the 2006 congressional election or last fall's mayoral race.
"It's hard to get students interested in these positions," Simon said.
Local races get less attention in presidential election years, Stalberg said, adding that this is especially true this year.
Stalberg said he has a hunch that most students who registered on their college campuses will just vote for the top of the ballot because "they are not that invested in the Philadelphia area."
However, Maglicco said, "If you made the decision to vote in Philadelphia, it is important to vote all the way down."
She said students should educate themselves about local elections and recommended the Web sites of the Committee of Seventy and League of Women Voters as non-partisan resources for voters.
"Penn Leads the Vote is also very helpful with providing students with information," Maglicco added.
"In a perfect world, all citizens would vote and all citizens would care about all the races, but I'll just have to settle for what we get," Stalberg said. "I'm pleased that the electorate, especially on college campuses, is energized."
