Hot mayoral contest sparks rise in voter registerations

QUINCY - The number of registered voters in the city climbed to more than 53,500 as the deadline passed on Wednesday to register for the Nov. 6 election.

City Clerk Joseph Shea said he expected a final count, after mail-in registrations, to be at roughly 53,700. He said 251 people stopped in on the final day to city hall, which stayed open late.

Shea predicted turnout might hit 52 percent when voters head to the polls in three weeks. There are races for mayor, school committee and city council.

“We’re running about the same as in ’01,” Shea said, referring to the last hot mayoral election in the city between then Mayor James Sheets and William Phelan.

The race, which Phelan won by 17 votes, was the closest in city history. Just over 47 percent of the city’s 53,000 registered voters voted in that election, Shea said.

“Still, this doesn’t hold a candle to the presidential elections,” Shea said, when the number of registered voters has risen above 54,000.

A 2006 count put Quincy’s population at 90,526.

John P. Kelly may be reached at jkelly@ledger.com.