Voter turnout expected to be high for Pennsylvania primary

Allegheny County elections officials expect double the number of Democrats to vote in Tuesday's presidential primary, compared to the primary of 2004.

Kevin Evanto, a spokesman for county Chief Executive Dan Onorato, said elections officials are predicting 60 percent turnout among Democrats, and about 30 percent turnout among Republicans.

The hotly contested race between Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton has pushed voter interest in the Pennsylvania primary to near-record highs.

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The county is putting extra machines, poll workers and provisional ballots at the polling stations in precincts near the universities, in Oakland and Shadyside, Evanto said.

At the Posvar Hall polling station, on the University of Pittsburgh campus in Oakland, there will be 12 poll workers, compared to the five workers who will be on hand at most polls, Evanto said. Student voters are expected to turn out heavily, and for many, it will be their first time voting, Evanto said.

Democrats traditionally outnumber Republicans in Allegheny County, and this primary cycle looks to be no exception. Evanto ticked off the figures:

There are 567,000 registered Democrats and 250,000 Republicans in Allegheny County, and since November, there are 12,100 new registered Democrats and 3,667 new registered Republicans.

There have been 17,755 party changes since the November election, with the majority of those -- 14,149 -- converting to the Democratic party, and 2,174 going over to the GOP.

To sum up: Democrats in Allegheny County have added 25,587 voters, while Republicans have seen their numbers dwindle by 2,007.

Evanto said while voter registration has increased this primary season, it's still about 20,000 voters shy of the record set in 2002.

Clinton will end her Pennsylvania primary campaign in Philadelphia Tuesday night, with a party at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue. She held her last Pittsburgh appearance Monday with a rally in Market Square.

Obama campaigned in Philadelphia, McKeesport and held a rally Monday night at the Petersen Events Center at the University of Pittsburgh.