Voter totals sound alarm in rep race

LYNN – Sharp changes in West Lynn voters registration numbers add a twist of unpredictability to next Tuesday’s primary election and should alarm legislative candidates, said two former elected officials and a current one.Registered voters totaled 2,286 in Ward 5, Precinct 4 prior to the September 2010 primary compared to 2,009 registered for next Tuesday’s primary, according to the city Election Department. Ward 7, Precinct 3 had 1,701 voters registered in 2010 compared to 1,555 registered as of Aug. 20.Two Ward 6 precincts also saw registration shifts with 1,684 voters registered in 2010 to vote in Precinct 4 compared to 1,473 currently registered. Ward 6 Precinct 3 saw an increase in voters compared to 2010 with 1,537 voters registered for the primary compared to 1,195 in 2010.”I’d love to know why,” said former West Lynn state Rep. James Smith.Smith represented the district 40 years ago and his nephew, former Rep. Steven Walsh, left the Legislature this year, setting the stage for a Democratic primary contest between City Councilor Brendan Crighton, School Committee member Charlie Gallo and former council candidate Aikaterini Panagiotakis Koudanis.Smith and School Committee member Donna Coppola said the looming primary has focused the candidates’ attention on voter lists even as they crisscross West Lynn neighborhoods knocking on doors and asking for votes.Smith, who won election to the West Lynn seat as a 21-year-old college student, said candidates focus on “super voters” – residents who cast ballots on a regular, predictable basis. Shifts in registration raises concerns for candidates, Smith said, because the changes may reflect new voter enrollment in precincts that could help decide a closely contested election.Joseph Scanlon agreed and described the 11th Essex District contest as a “close, heated race.” But the 42-year Lynn Democratic City Committee member said registration numbers don’t matter if voters don’t go to the polls.One out of 10 voters went to the polls in the 2010 primary with 47,700 registered to vote, compared to 49,588 Lynn voters registered for the Sept. 9 primary.Coppola ran in the 2002 race Walsh won and said the current candidates should pay close attention to shifts in voter registration even as they tally up votes they can count on next Tuesday.”They need to really gather people up for the final push,” she said.