Fewer than 20% of registered Akron voters weighed in on which of the eight candidates for the Akron Board of Education should earn one of the four open seats.
Despite low turnout rates across the city, neighborhoods on the west side of Akron with the highest voter turnout — particularly the blocks near and to the north of West Market Street — dramatically influenced the overall outcome of the race.
Signal Akron reviewed data for all of the candidates in the 118 precincts in Akron that are in the Akron Public Schools’ district boundaries — each has between 750 and 1,159 registered voters — and found which neighborhoods most strongly affected which of the candidates were elected in the school board race.
How we analyzed the school board results
Candidates for the Akron school board received a total of 66,403 votes, though it is unknown how many people actually weighed in. Each voter in the district could choose up to four of the candidates on their ballot — one for every open seat on the board — but they were not required to use all four selections…