by Melissa Comber
The Voter Turnout Archive Project (“VTA”) at the CPP finished its second and final summer of data collection. Voter turnout statistics have currently been collected from Beaver, Butler, Erie, Lawrence, Mercer, Somerset, Venango, and Washington Counties in Pennsylvania, with as many as four more Counties to be added this fall.
A project website, http://webpub.allegheny.edu/group/vta/home.html, has also been created. This website allows users to easily view and download voter turnout data. It also features a “related links” tab to other voter turnout and political participation internet sites. An alternate tab on the site leads users to the Pennsylvania Counties Archive data file. This archive provides County-level voter turnout statistics for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for all presidential and gubernatorial elections since 1972.
Voter turnout statistics provide valuable information that can be used to examine voter conduct, indicate the quality of elections and campaigns, and gauge the general health of the electorate. In particular, the VTA Project provides voter turnout statistics at the community level
