Why Should You Vote Local?
By Chiara Frank
When someone hears the word “election”, presidential elections are typically the first ones that come to mind. As presidential elections are very impactful and prominent in minds and media, it is vital that people are educated about the importance of local elections and what their power to vote can do in their communities. These refer to the mayoral, state, city council, and any county election that occurs in a specific area. Although local governments have over $1 trillion in public funding at their disposal (usvotefoundation.org) and can influence a person’s life as much as a presidential election, these elections are often lesser-known, and therefore a lack of knowledge exists of state and county officials that make decisions that influence the day to day lives of the public. These elections occur throughout the year and across the country, providing many opportunities to vote in them.
Due to this unfamiliarity with local elections, voter turnout has lagged over the years. With fewer voters, one vote can be even more powerful in an election, as local elections are often decided by just that one vote. According to nationalcivicleague.org,
This image from usvotefoundation.org demonstrates how during this time period the overall voter turnout in presidential elections was double the voter turnout in local elections across the U.S
“The turnout for local elections is historically both low and less representative of community demographics. Across the U.S., only 15 to 27 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot in their local election.” In 2016, the last presidential election, according to PBS News, about 58% of eligible voters voted, which means that typically, more than twice the percentage of people who vote in presidential elections as local elections. It is extremely important to recognize this extremely low voter turnout in local elections, as the officials that make decisions about people’s communities are not being chosen by the people. Furthermore, these elections are not representative of the communities as a whole, meaning everyone’s voices are not being heard, especially minority and low-income groups.
The elected officials voted on and chosen during these elections, once elected, will make decisions that influence the day to day life of kids, parents, relatives, and all people in a community. Low voter turnout especially, can cause impacts on matters such as public transit, local school quality, parks, roads, libraries, and pool maintenance, garbage collection, animal registration, job training programs and city colleges, housing and renting services, and local environmental protection services. Each of these specific causes may influence people of any gender, race, or age within an area, making this of wide-spread significance. Only 1 in 4 actual voters vote in their local elections.
This matter definitely involves and directly impacts youth through many of the decisions made by the elected officials that pertain to them. One of the major impacts on the youth population is the role that local government has on the quality of the local education system. Children spend the majority of their time in school learning, but depending on who is elected locally, the quality of their learning may be hindered. Within the education system, lies an opportunity gap, meaning that schools in communities that are lower economically, receive poorer treatment, lower funding, and fewer resources than those in communities that are higher economically. Although education is a right, good education has become a privilege due to the fact that youth is often put at a disadvantage over something that they cannot control. When considering the fact that all students should receive fair education, who is elected locally will have a say in this.
My own personal connection to this topic is through my own interest in the past to investigate the powers and stances of local officials in matters that were important to me. These past few months, a group of friends and I have started the Be The Change committee in our Carlsbad/Encinitas community to enact one service project each month that we all collaborate on. We decided that this month’s project would be working on getting a recycling program integrated into our high school and school district. Before meeting with an administrator about our plan, we took a lot of time to research and learn about the systems in place in our area. I found out about a plastic straw ban that the Encinitas Council (one of our local governments) enacted in February of this year. An Encinitas resident called this act “a cultural shift away from the mindset that it's OK to have single-use plastic forks or straws, and this new ordinance will help change people’s attitudes”, which made me think about the cultural shift we are trying to create at our school. It was amazing to learn about what our local governments are doing for our community, and we wanted to continue their efforts of protecting the environment in our school and district, using this ban as a source of inspiration for our project.
Although typically, people are less familiar with local elections, there are a variety of ways for youth to contribute and help prevent this. First off, it is very valuable for people to educate themselves. Research the specific positions that are being filled in their area and who may be filling them, positions that may include mayor, city council member, city manager, county commissioner, or city attorney. Learning about individual candidates is vital to ensure this. For those who are under 18 years old and can’t vote yet, they can still take action. Speaking with their parents about local elections and who they are voting for and even going to city council meetings are ways that they can take action in their communities. Especially if they see something in their area that they believe could be improved, it is vital to speak up to their parents and teachers, so that the local officials in charge can be gotten in touch with. Youth has such a powerful voice in their individual communities and they can use those voices to ensure their areas are educated about local elections!
This image from usvotefoundation.org demonstrates how during this time period the overall voter turnout in presidential elections was double the voter turnout in local elections across the U.S
“The turnout for local elections is historically both low and less representative of community demographics. Across the U.S., only 15 to 27 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot in their local election.” In 2016, the last presidential election, according to PBS News, about 58% of eligible voters voted, which means that typically, more than twice the percentage of people who vote in presidential elections as local elections. It is extremely important to recognize this extremely low voter turnout in local elections, as the officials that make decisions about people’s communities are not being chosen by the people. Furthermore, these elections are not representative of the communities as a whole, meaning everyone’s voices are not being heard, especially minority and low-income groups.
The elected officials voted on and chosen during these elections, once elected, will make decisions that influence the day to day life of kids, parents, relatives, and all people in a community. Low voter turnout especially, can cause impacts on matters such as public transit, local school quality, parks, roads, libraries, and pool maintenance, garbage collection, animal registration, job training programs and city colleges, housing and renting services, and local environmental protection services. Each of these specific causes may influence people of any gender, race, or age within an area, making this of wide-spread significance. Only 1 in 4 actual voters vote in their local elections.
This matter definitely involves and directly impacts youth through many of the decisions made by the elected officials that pertain to them. One of the major impacts on the youth population is the role that local government has on the quality of the local education system. Children spend the majority of their time in school learning, but depending on who is elected locally, the quality of their learning may be hindered. Within the education system, lies an opportunity gap, meaning that schools in communities that are lower economically, receive poorer treatment, lower funding, and fewer resources than those in communities that are higher economically. Although education is a right, good education has become a privilege due to the fact that youth is often put at a disadvantage over something that they cannot control. When considering the fact that all students should receive fair education, who is elected locally will have a say in this.
My own personal connection to this topic is through my own interest in the past to investigate the powers and stances of local officials in matters that were important to me. These past few months, a group of friends and I have started the Be The Change committee in our Carlsbad/Encinitas community to enact one service project each month that we all collaborate on. We decided that this month’s project would be working on getting a recycling program integrated into our high school and school district. Before meeting with an administrator about our plan, we took a lot of time to research and learn about the systems in place in our area. I found out about a plastic straw ban that the Encinitas Council (one of our local governments) enacted in February of this year. An Encinitas resident called this act “a cultural shift away from the mindset that it's OK to have single-use plastic forks or straws, and this new ordinance will help change people’s attitudes”, which made me think about the cultural shift we are trying to create at our school. It was amazing to learn about what our local governments are doing for our community, and we wanted to continue their efforts of protecting the environment in our school and district, using this ban as a source of inspiration for our project.
Although typically, people are less familiar with local elections, there are a variety of ways for youth to contribute and help prevent this. First off, it is very valuable for people to educate themselves. Research the specific positions that are being filled in their area and who may be filling them, positions that may include mayor, city council member, city manager, county commissioner, or city attorney. Learning about individual candidates is vital to ensure this. For those who are under 18 years old and can’t vote yet, they can still take action. Speaking with their parents about local elections and who they are voting for and even going to city council meetings are ways that they can take action in their communities. Especially if they see something in their area that they believe could be improved, it is vital to speak up to their parents and teachers, so that the local officials in charge can be gotten in touch with. Youth has such a powerful voice in their individual communities and they can use those voices to ensure their areas are educated about local elections!
Here are two resources for learning about different positions within federal/local governments and how to find out about when the local elections are in your state!
https://ballotpedia.org/Local_Politics
https://www.whenweallvote.org/vrh/?utm_campaign=Portals&utm_medium=register
https://ballotpedia.org/Local_Politics
https://www.whenweallvote.org/vrh/?utm_campaign=Portals&utm_medium=register
Podcast episode can be found here.
Chiara Frank is a senior at La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, California. This summer, she became a National Student Ambassador for When We All Vote, a captain for her high school in the San Diego region of My School Votes, and she decided to create a My School Votes club at her high school, in which she has been able to do a great amount of student outreach in her school community to educate her peers about using their voice through their power to vote.
Chiara Frank is a senior at La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, California. This summer, she became a National Student Ambassador for When We All Vote, a captain for her high school in the San Diego region of My School Votes, and she decided to create a My School Votes club at her high school, in which she has been able to do a great amount of student outreach in her school community to educate her peers about using their voice through their power to vote.