The Observer: Suppose we held an election, and nobody came
What if we had an election and nobody came? This riff on the antiwar slogan from the Vietnam War era came to mind last month. What would happen if nobody voted in the next election? Or if only a handful of partisan radicals turned out to vote?
They would win the day; not by stealth but by apathy.
What initially made me think of this is the Maine state election held two weeks ago.
A total of just 686 people voted in York’s June primary; a tiny fraction of York’s approximately 11,000 registered voters. Just 24 days earlier (May 21), York held its local budget referendum. Over 3,000 votes were cast in that one. It still wasn’t great shakes from a turn-out point of view, but a 30% turnout sure beats a 6% turnout.
That the June turnout was low is not surprising. It was a party preference primary and only Democrats in District #146 (western York, Ogunquit and part of Wells) had any real choice to make. That choice was between Gerry Runte and Heath Ouelette, a contest Runte dominated in York (175 to 34) and also won across the district. Everything else was uncontested.
The party preference aspect of the election also meant that unenrolled voters could not vote. This would help account for the low turnout because about 40% of York’s registered voters (2014 data) are unenrolled. Thus, a lot of voters are effectively disenfranchised in primaries. An act to permit unenrolled voters to cast ballots in primary elections was defeated in the state legislature in 2017.
The Observer: York Town Manager Steve Burns has a lot to be proud of
What else might account for the large number of June no-shows? Did it matter that the May election was on a Saturday while the June one was on a Tuesday? Perhaps, but other factors probably were more important.
I think a major factor was the widespread lack of awareness that there even was an election being held on June 14. Campaign signs proliferated in May but few were to be seen in June. To the extent that people didn’t know there was an election, the blame lies less with the voters and more with other actors: mass media, state and local governments, political parties and candidates among others.
All could have been more active in getting out the vote.
Some people faulted having two separate elections within a month. They ask: couldn’t the state and local elections be combined? The obstacle to combining the local budget referendum with the state primary is the Town Charter. York’s Charter stipulates that the budget referendum must be held no earlier than 45 days before and no later than 30 days before the start of the fiscal year (July 1).
Another explanation for low turn-out is the possibility that voters were just worn out; overloaded with politics, division and eternal campaigns. Accompanying this fatigue factor is a widespread general cynicism about voting. Across the country there have been corrosive rumors that elections were dishonestly run, stolen by false victors, corrupted by dirty politicians.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree: Kids shouldn’t have to beg Congress to keep them safe
The 45th president has done a lot to promote such ideas. Say what you will about the man, he knows how to communicate with his supporters — especially those who don’t seem to care that his claims of a stolen election were shown recently to be groundless by the House Select Committee investigating January 6.
Attacking the 2020 election as corrupt undermines all elections and discourages voters from participating. It doesn’t seem likely that these acidic and groundless lies would have an effect on local and state elections such as the one we experienced in June this year, but it doesn’t help. Of greater concern than the last election is the next one on the calendar.
Your next chance to vote is four and a half months from now: November 8, 2022.
That is the date of the mid-term election and there will be a lot at stake in it. York voters will see contests for Governor (Janet Mills vs. Paul Lepage vs. Sam Hunkler), U.S. House of Representatives in ME-1 (Chellie Pingree vs. Ed Thelander), State Senator (Mark Lawrence vs. Julie Rakic), State Representatives in #147 (Holly Sargent vs. David Koopman) and in #146 (Gerry Runte vs. Bradley Moulton).
Put it on your calendar… now. Then vote on Tuesday, November 8. Don’t be a no-show next time. Those who don’t vote will make losers of us all.
Ron McAllister is a sociologist and writer who lives in York.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: The Observer: Suppose we held an election, and nobody came
