Low turnout, high impact: Why local elections matter more than many think

By Victoria Mejicanos
AFRO Staff Writer
vmejicanos@afro.com

Turnout for local elections is often a fraction of the electorate – a stark contrast to turnout for presidential races. However, lower-profile elections from school boards to central committees shape daily life—from classroom policies to which candidates appear on future ballots, experts said.

In local elections, about 20 percent of voters show up at the ballot box, which isn’t representative of the populations they are meant to represent, according to Dr. Alana Hackshaw, a clinical professor at the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. 

Hackshaw says the lack of engagement often comes from a combination of voter fatigue as well as the general lack of information surrounding local candidates vs. presidential ones. 

“The bigger thing is there’s just less information,” said Hackshaw. “
The media is not pumping out tons of information about local elections. You have to be a highly engaged voter to recall and want to remember that local elections are happening.”

Hackshaw noted that the decline of local newspapers exacerbates the shortage of information, and with many candidates, it can be hard for voters to stay engaged. 

Much of the impact of these elections comes from two key but often overlooked groups: school boards and central committees. 

School boards, for example, oversee decisions that directly impact students, teachers and families in the city. They oversee budgets, curriculum and district policies. In recent years, key decisions have included issues like cell phone restrictions and school closures. 

Local central committees operate behind the scenes within political parties. They help recruit candidates, organize campaigns and fundraise. Ultimately, they shape which candidates appear on ballots, shaping the direction of party politics at both the local and state levels. 

Nadia Robinson is a senior at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute who interns with Baltimore Votes, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing voter participation in the city. Robinson will be voting for the first time this year and says being engaged in the process early as a poll worker and engaging with the organization has made the process less intimidating for her. 

“The earlier you start something, the more likely you are to continue doing it as you get older because it becomes a habit, and you become used to the environment,” said Robinson. 

As a student, she says she experiences the impact of the school board through phone bans. 

For teachers, these decisions can have broader consequences. 

Jocelyn Providence is a mathematics teacher in Baltimore City Public Schools and the teacher chapter secretary of the Baltimore Teachers Union, and says school board decisions have had tangible impacts in her classroom. Having attended meetings for more than 10 years as an educator, she has seen the school board change in structure as well as focus. 

Most recently, she says that budget cuts have impacted the size of staff at her school, increasing class sizes and forcing educators to adjust. Recent school closures have also created fear that her son’s school will close due to its small size, as she sees that being a common explanation for a growing trend. 

Providence added that compared to previous years, when more members of the school board were elected rather than appointed, now it feels like community input is not always reflected in decision-making. 

“The only way for us to really, truly improve our community and our neighborhood is to make sure that we have better schools, and knowing who is leading our schools is one of the key parts of that,” said Providence. “Our taxes are going towards the schools, so we have financial skin in the game, and we should make sure that we have voting skin in the game as well, and what happens in our schools and with our schools.”

Javey Adams is civics program coordinator for No Boundaries Coalition, a nonprofit organization in West Baltimore that aims to transform the community through civic education, youth leadership, and food justice. Adams says that many residents underestimate the impact of local elections. 

“Your power is in your voice, which is in your vote,” Adams said.   

For organizers and educators alike, increasing participation in local elections is key to ensuring that communities have a say in the decisions that shape their daily lives.

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