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Tuesday’s voter turnout in Boston was worse than you think

Translation: Boston's City Council winners should temper their celebrations; democracy worked on Tuesday, but just barely. Only 13.63 percent of Boston's 372,889 registered voters — 50,807 people — cast ballots in the off-year election, according to unofficial results. The turnout looks even worse from a wide-angle view. According to the city's annual census, about 200,000 adults in Boston aren't even registered to vote.

Granted, the city’s figure includes 17-year-olds, so some of those potential voters might not have been eligible. And an unknown number of residents don’t have US citizenship. But a conservative estimate suggests that more than half a million people could have voted in Tuesday’s election — and just shy of one-10th of them did. However you add it up, the minority ruled by a landslide. — MARK POTHIER

SOURCE: City of Boston