Why No One Votes In Local Elections

Jonathan Bernstein: “One is a lack of consolidated elections. If we held municipal polls in November on even-numbered years – that is, when we’re already voting for president, governor and other high-profile offices – most people would continue down the ballot and vote for mayor and other local offices. But many areas don’t do it this way; voters instead have to turn up for additional elections in off-cycle years. As usual when voting is difficult, the reason is because the people who schedule these things don’t want people to vote. In this case, most of the fault lies with Democrats, who have often opposed consolidation at the urging of unions that have disproportionate power in off-cycle elections. The party has done a good job of pushing to make voting easier in other contexts, but not in this one, and it’s important too.”

“The other reason is because many of these contests are, by law, nonpartisan. Parties aren’t popular in U.S. political culture. But they’re extremely helpful to voters, because they provide a lot of information in a very small package. Although that “R” or “D” after a candidate’s name may not tell us everything we want to know about a given contest, it’s enough for most people to make a reasonably informed decision. Those places that do hold partisan elections demonstrate that local parties can differ sharply from their cousins at the state and national levels.”