This isn’t about registering to vote. If you have to be convinced of that, this note won’t do it. This is for the millions of registered voters who only vote when there’s a big presidential election, or possibly a highly publicized even-year midterm (I’m looking at you, unaffiliated voters).
Why? Even year November elections are easy. There’s a lot of awareness, signs, commercials, online ads. Yet most voters (~75%) skip the elections to choose which candidates actually compete in November, the primary election. We’ll soapbox those primaries next year.
In municipal (city, school) odd-year elections, the statistics are even more dire. For example, Kansas’ 2nd most populous city, the largest Kansas City suburb, Overland Park, the total population is about 191,000. To be fair, not every voter had a primary race on their ballot during these years, but here are the current OP residents which voted in previous primary elections:
- 2015: 535
- 2017: 5,213
- 2019: 11,046
Even in the best of years (2019), 5.7% of the population voted, meaning the winner is chosen by 2.9% of the total population. And some wonder why there’s a 3% movement? They vote! PLUS – that’s the November general election – the primary elections which decide the candidates competing in November have depressingly lower turnout. Many of those races are decided by a handful – less than 10 – votes. YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS CAN BE THAT DIFFERENCE!
A nod to this blog title – most city and school board elections are non-partisan, meaning EVERY voter is eligible to vote. Red or blue, purple or green, there are no primary colors – or general, for that matter.
Technically, a vote is a vote is a vote. However, if you’re comparing elections and turnout, using the example above, 112,000 Overland Parkers voted in November 2020. This means when comparing voters between 2015 and 2019 to 2020 voters, your ONE vote in a local primary election is equal to 10 to 210 votes more than in a presidential election.
What our cities, school boards, and other local units do impact us every single day, more deeply and immediately than anything done in Washington, DC. Imagine the following and each impact on your family and business:
- Cuts to the snow budget: Less sand, salt, snow removal
- Changes to police and fire training or funding
- Elimination of sex ed
- Banning (or allowing) certain words, texts, art, or activities in schools
- Rezoning the land behind your house from residential to industrial
- And hundreds more…
Kansas-Local examples:
Mayor of Edgerton – this is a big deal. Edgerton has been the hub of commerce for the last decade as hundreds of businesses across the country and around the world have shifted their logistics strategy to take advantage of Kansas City’s centralized location to the coasts. Because of Edgerton’s proactive thinking and economic development strategy, Mayor Don Roberts is the Miracle Gro of jobs in Johnson County. This growth hasn’t gone without its detractors, as anyone who’s lived in a small town knows – many don’t want to grow, don’t want their home values to rise, and don’t want outsiders coming in.
Other examples:
Lenexa has primary elections in TWO of its four wards (map).
Merriam has a Ward 2 primary (map).
The entire City of Olathe can vote in the At-Large Council Member primary, and there’s a SIX-way primary in Ward 3 (map). That must be a record of some kind!
- There’s also a primary in the Olathe school district, District 3 race (map).
Overland Park has six wards. There are primaries in four of them, plus the mayor’s race (map).
What’s the point? In Johnson County’s two largest cities (Olathe & OP), EVERY RESIDENT will have something on their ballot.
But here’s what will happen. Less than 10% of eligible voters will vote. Please prove us wrong.
Here’s how:
Confirm your voter registration, find your polling place or apply for a mail ballot (where available), view a sample ballot: