Analysts try to explain Boston's lowest poll turnout in years

Boston's voter turnout plummeted to its lowest level in more than two decades yesterday, especially in the city's predominantly nonwhite neighborhoods, a tide of apathy that swept the City Council's only Latino member, Felix Arroyo, out of office.

Violent crime soared in neighborhoods like Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury in recent years. But lost amid the efforts to halt the killings and a flood of press coverage about dead victims is the impact the violence has had on those who survive.

She juggles her classes, court appearances for the Legal Aid Bureau, and work on a website start-up. It is a full schedule for any Harvard Law student, but Cate Edwards is also trying to help her father get elected president.