Philadelphia residents: If you trouble yourselves to vote Nov. 3, you might win $10,000. Seriously. That was the scheme laid out Thursday, showcased in part by two ex-rivals – former Mayor John F. Street and three-time Republican mayoral candidate Sam Katz, whom Democrat Street twice defeated. They teamed up to promote voting in a city that has seen abysmal turnouts in recent years. “Desperate times require desperate measures, and this is certainly the case,” Katz said at a LOVE Park event announcing what promoters billed as a lottery. The two men joined Larry Platt, former editor of Philadelphia Magazine and the Philadelphia Daily News, as he announced the plan to give $10,000 to one lucky voter on Election Day.
Platt pointed to a large chart showing dwindling turnout over the last few decades. Barely one in four voters took part in the May 19 mayoral primary. “We are in a crisis of civic participation,” Platt said. “And we’re in favor of anything that gets the conversation started, to try and jump-start democracy in the place where it was born.”
The planned giveaway is also sure to stir publicity for the entity running it – Platt’s online publication, Philadelphia Citizen.
The $10,000 is coming from a foundation begun by Ajay Raju and his wife, Pamela. Raju is chairman and chief executive of the Dilworth Paxson law firm and, with Platt, is a founder of Philadelphia Citizen.
Full Article: A $10,000 prize – for voting in Phila..