Voter Turnout Surged In Forest Hills, Dropped In Other Areas

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — Voter turnout surged citywide during the recent 2021 primary election, including in Forest Hills, where more people went to the polls or cast an absentee ballot compared to voter turnout in 2013 — the city's last major primary election.

According to data analyzed by The City, the share of registered Democrats in Forest Hills who voted in this year's primary election increased by 7.5 percent compared to turnout in 2013. The number of voters who turned out — just over 14,200 — is also on par with the number of people who cast votes in Astoria, one of the areas of the borough that saw the greatest surge in voter turnout.

By contrast, voter turnout decreased in some of the borough’s neighborhoods that were hardest-hit by the pandemic, including Corona and southeast Queens, reported The City.

As the site pointed out, the low percentage of voter turnout in those districts could be attributed to voters having to weather the disproportionate effects of the pandemic, including death and economic hardship.

Also, races with high percentages of voter turnout — especially in northwest Queens — might have benefited from what The City dubbed "the AOC effect," where U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio energized progressive voters in the area.

According to further analysis by Patch, the lower voter turnout in the four districts identified by The City could also be related to the presence of an incumbent candidate in most of those City Council contests.

These three factors also come into play in Forest Hills.

The neighborhood's District 29 City Council race, remained crowded throughout this year's primary cycle, with 10 Democrats vying for a single seat. Also, the district garnered a high-profile show of support from Ocasio-Cortez's Courage to Change PAC, which endorsed a candidate in the race. And, compared to other neighborhoods that were among the hardest-hit by the pandemic, Forest Hills was less impacted.

However, when considering voter turnout in this year's primary, it is important to keep in mind that City Council races weren’t the only contests on this year’s primary election ballot — namely including a hotly contested mayoral race.

Plus, incumbency and high-profile endorsements are not the only factor that influences voter turnout, especially in neighborhoods that are overwhelmingly populated by voters of color — like those in Corona and southeastern Queens that saw the percentage of voter turnout drop.

Laura Wood, the city’s chief democracy officer, told The City that “there is an increase in the work of civic engagement that’s happening in the city right now,” including election reforms like early voting, no-excuse absentee voting — an effect of the pandemic — and ranked choice voting.

However, she also noted there could be “more emphasis” put on other aspects of the voting process, like automatic voter registration, which might prompt more eligible voters to show up to the polls.

It needs to be “easier for people to get involved later in the game,” Wood told The City.

Read the full report by The City here.