Turnout Woes

Voter turnout in local elections has been steadily trickling downward this last decade, according to a new report. Local elections see by far the lowest turnout of any of the three levels of government, including state and federal. Recent mayoral elections in Los Angeles and New York City actually saw a decrease in voter turnout, contrary to their veiled high profile appearance.

governing.com

 

It is important to note that these high profile elections in metropolitan areas are where political machines had institutionally got-out-the-vote, albeit to ensure they stayed in power. Now that voter turnout is historically low, it could be we went too far in the other direction. The tighter election laws squeezing out political machines and ID protections have not helped people go to the polls in addition to the public's unfavorable view of government as a whole. This doesn't mean officials aren't trying to fix the ongoing problem, either.

Los Angeles had the idea to change the election year from that of a staggered cycle with federal elections to coincide with presidential elections, as they claim it increases turnout and saves taxpayers money. Interestingly, they also had the idea to raffle out cash prizes to random voters!