More than 1,800 voters participated in the March 10 Sarasota City Commission elections in District 2 and 3 than participating in those districts for the last city election. But there were also more than 2,600 voters who participated in the last election but did not vote in the contest two weeks ago. This according to an SRQ Media Group analysis of election returns.

While a variety of explanations for the voter attrition, the analysis shows the dramatically different voter make-up from election to election in contests where a turnout of 30 percent would be considered extremely high. In the District 2 contest this year, a total of 3,798 ballots were counted this year, representing just 25.73 percent of the total registered voters in the jurisdiction. Turnout was more scant in District 3, where 1,636 votes were tabulated, representing 16.23 percent of the pool of registered voters.

Of most immediate importance, the big swings in numbers show there is still potential for upset in the May runoff for the City Commission, and neither district has yet elected a commissioner to serve the next four years. In District 2, Liz Alpert came in first in the election with 1,656 votes to incumbent Eileen Normile’s 1,449 votes; David Morgan came in third with 689, enough to prevent either of his opponents from securing a majority. In District 3, incumbent Stan Zimmerman topped the roster with 750 votes but must still face challenger Shelli Freeland Eddie, who had 584 votes; Matt Wooddall was the third-place finisher in this district with 297 votes.

The election results will be discussed at SRQ’s Where The Votes Are event this morning. Doors open at 7:30am and the event is free to the public. The Sarasota City Commission runoff is scheduled for May 12.