I don't know what these numbers mean, but I think they must mean something

In a post earlier today I cited to a post on the Illinois Observer. While browsing through that blog, another post also caught my eye. Published on March 14, 2012, the Observer reviewed the top and bottom 10 performing wards in the February 2010 primary. Expressed in terms of registered voters coming to the polls, according to the Observer, the top 10 performing wards in 2010 were:

1. Matthew O’Shea (19^th) – 49.8%
2. Michael Madigan (13^th) – 40.4%
3. Michael Zalewski (23^rd) – 37.8%
4. Ed Burke (14^th) – 35.4%
5. Toni Preckwinkle (4^th) – 34.5%
6. Michelle Harris (8^th) – 33.2%
7. Freddrenna Lyle (6^th) – 30.0%
8. Derrick Curtis (18^th) – 29.6%
9. Leslie Hairston (5^th) – 29.6%
10. John Daley (11^th) – 29.1%

Again, according to the linked Observer post, the bottom 10 vote producers were:

1. Tony Munoz (12^th) – 18.4%
2. Ed Smith (28^th) – 18.2%
3. John Pope (10^th) – 18.1%
4. Rey Colon (35^th) – 17.5%
5. Roberto Maldonado (26^th) – 17.5%
6. Joann Thompson (16^th) – 17.2%
7. Toni Foulkes (15^th) – 16.9%
8. Jesse Juarez (1^st) – 16.0%
9. Joseph Berrios (31^st) – 15.9%
10. Ariel Reboyras (30^th) – 15.2%

This got me wondering.

Were the numbers similar last week?

As it turns out... some were... and some were very different.

The top 10 performing wards on March 20, 2012, in terms of ballots cast, were:

	Ward	Votes Cast
1	19	11,660
2	8	10,303
3	6	9,712
4	21	9,417
5	34	8,941
6	13	8,500
7	4	8,077
8	18	7,643
9	7	7,639
10	23	7,398

The bottom 10 vote producing wards were:

	Ward	Votes Cast
1	30	2,184
2	12	2,195
3	33	2,534
4	22	2,582
5	26	2,697
6	16	2,735
7	31	2,912
8	14	3,087
9	15	3,115
10	39	3,219