"I am active politically at the local/state level. We have had declining voter turn-out over the years so that the last city council election garnered less than 10%. I used to think that those elections would have higher participation for exactly the reasons you mention - council & school boards being so close to home. any thoughts on this?"
After responding, I continued to think about this issue. I suspect that low voter turnout, in part, is a communication issue. Venturing a risky step into political blogging (just for today, I promise!) I wanted to expound on some of my thoughts. Please join in on this discussion if you want to add to the discourse!
I suspect that there are several reasons for the decline in voter turnout.
- I think that many "could be" voters stay away from the polls because they question whether or not their vote makes a difference. I suspect we will see a significant drop in the percentage of people voting in the national election this fall (as most states saw during the primaries) because there has been a lot of attention paid to Citizen's United issues. "I don't have millions to contribute so how can I change things" is how many individuals are viewing things this political season.
- Related to that, many erstwhile voters question what impact, if any, one candidate will have over another. If you view all politicians with the same suspicion-colored glasses, they all look the same and then why take the time to go to the polls?
- While they were set up to make it easier for people to vote, I suspect that the preponderance of options like Early voting and Absentee voting can be intimidating and confusing for those not fully engaged in the process. It also has the impact of lessening the special aspect of Election Day.
- When I was growing up, I remember hearing leaders of all shapes, sizes and political flavors talk about the importance of getting out to vote. I grew up believing it was EVERYONE'S civic duty to vote. I don't hear that from our leaders nearly as much. Voting no longer is held out as a sacred duty of citizenship.
- It is harder and harder for politicians and political parties to cut through the communications barrage we are all subjected to every day. With an ever-increasing number of communications venues and an exponentially increasing number of message that most of us have to contend with every day, it is hard for your voice to be heard. It is hard for McDonald's and Chevy, who can market 24/7/365. Imagine competing with that with an uncertain source of funds and a limited time frame. On top of that, try communicating complicated policy issues and positions in a 30 second ad or a two minute "news" story. Perhaps that is why candidates and PACs turn toward negative ads.
- Negative ads. Proponents say they work. But they work not by bringing out your voters but by discouraging the voters of the other guy.
More specifically on local elections,
- I think it comes down to people not realizing the impact that local elected officials have on their day-to-day lives. There are fewer and fewer independent, local media sources to tell us the value of those local elected officials. When all you have is national and regional media, who is covering the city council meeting?
As any good marketer knows, in order to get people to act, you have to move a prospect through certain steps of interest and affiliation before you get them to consider taking action. I suspect that our political system, used to a bygone era when stronger party affiliations provided automatic interest and affiliation to a candidate. They still have to adjust to a new political reality in which more and more voters identify themselves as being independent and even those who identify with a party are more willing to cross over to vote for a candidate or an issue that captures their imagination, their interest and their affiliation.
In the end, voter turnout is tied to interest in the candidate and the system. For some of the reasons I suggested above and many others, eligible voters have lost, or never obtained, that interest. From time to time an issue or a candidate will fan those flames and generate new interest, and new voters. Ronald Reagan in the 80s and Barack Obama in 2008 both come to mind. And both of those candidates were touted as being Great Communicators.
In the end, voter turnout is tied to interest in the candidate and the system. For some of the reasons I suggested above and many others, eligible voters have lost, or never obtained, that interest. From time to time an issue or a candidate will fan those flames and generate new interest, and new voters. Ronald Reagan in the 80s and Barack Obama in 2008 both come to mind. And both of those candidates were touted as being Great Communicators.
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