Voter turnout in big city municipal elections

[Chicago103]

Election day in Chicago was on Tuesday and there was near record (if not a record) low voter turnout of around 28%. Granted Mayor Daley was a shoe in for re-election and there were some uncontested or little contested aldermanic races but still 28 fucking %. It just disturbs me that there are so many people so self absorbed that they dont give a shit about the world class city that they live in. I dont expect everyone to have the passion in the veins that I have but come on. Also even amoung those who voted there was a percentage (albeit small by what I can tell) who voted on stupid issues such as parking.

I guess its another sign that we are a society thats more concerned with Anna Nicole Smith's rotting corpse, Britney Spear's shaved head, American Idol gossip, and finding a parking spot to pick up junk at the local big box than we do about the future of a world class city, our nation or our world. Citizenship itself is becoming a lost art.

[seaskyfan]

I used to do voter engagement work and I remain mystified as to why people don't vote when they have the chance to.

In Seattle the last municipal elections (mayor, half the city council, half the school board up) we had a turnout of over 55%. There were also some county races and some statewide initiatives on the ballot - the initiatives in particular tend to increase turnout. Off year turnout has increased in Washington as more folks are voting by mail. In 2005 70% of the folks who voted in my county voted by mail, and I think as of last year all but 4 or 5 of the State's 39 counties have gone to all mail elections.

We have an advisory election going on right now in the City of Seattle on some options for replacing an elevated road that runs between Downtown and the Waterfront. Not sure what the turnout will look like - it's the City's first all mail vote and also a lot of people are pissed off about whether the election results will mean anything (more info in the NW Forum).

[Chicago103]

There used to be a day when the citizens of Chicago would be willing to have city bonds subsidized by themselves the taxpayers to impliment the Burnham Plan of 1909 and have the World's Fair come here DURING THE DEPRESSION just out of their civic pride and sense of being a part of something bigger than themselves. Nowadays people are so self-absorbed that they become involved in the community and city government because they are concerned about parking or their own views and not wanting to raise a finger or spend a penny of their tax dollars for anything that doesnt benefit their own little lives directly, its just fucking pathetic the self absorbed apathetic zombie mentality of people these days. I dont care what people say in recent generations past people had a more communal citezenship in the community mentality even in our individualistic american culture than they do today.

[seaskyfan]

^ That sounds a little extreme.

I don't think people were that noble in the past and I don't think people suck that much now.

I'm curious since you're in Chicago - what part do you think the decline of machine politics has played in lower turnout?

[MayorOfChicago]

^ True (to the post two above), although Daley was totally expected to win. I really saw no events or advertising about the election. A few Daley commercials here and there, but no debates, no solid opposition.

I think the election just slid by most people because the city let it slide by. If Daley weren't running and it was two new people - you can bet your ass that 28% would be a lot higher.

I was going to vote, but then the bus was waiting right there. I thought about it and:

I wanted to vote for Daley, but I knew he didn't NEED my vote, and his 72% of total vote proved me right.

My alderman was running unopposed.

I decided to just get the bus instead of walking to vote, then coming back and waiting. Sad I know, but I'm not really ashamed of myself. I've voted in EVERY election possible for the past 9 years, and follow all of them. In this election I was honestly just complacent.

[vid]

That is a problem with many cities. Our last election had 34% turnout. Our mayor was running against a wife-beater and a pot head (who ran his campaign from his jail cell, for trafficking near a school) and add in that two aldermen (one of which in our most populous ward) we unopposed, and you have a recipe for low turnout right there.

When I went to vote, I was the only one at the polling station, and two hours before the polls closed, I was the 500th person to cast a ballot there (out of almost 2400 people registered in this neighbourhood)

Other problems would be lack of accessibility to polls. The polling station was over a mile away. (The provincial and federal elections use the community centre next door). Some people have suggested going all at large so that everyone has to vote for representation, but there is a good change that entire swaths of the city will be left out. (All of our at-large aldermen, except one, are from rural areas)

Our democracies are becoming stagnant. We need to change that.

[Swede]

Maybe changing when the election are held is something to think about? Here the municipal, county and national ones are all on the same day every 4 years - and are all proportional representation.
/only the confederal (EU) elections are on a different schedule.

[vid]

They just changed our municipal elections to every four years, which sucks. If we accidentally elect a do-nothing city council, that's one extra year than before.

[tackledspoon]

I've recently done something of a 180 on electoral politics and decided to abstain from voting in federal elections, but I still feel that the candidates in local elections have varied enough stances that voting, compared with significant political pressure from interest groups can make a difference. On the national level, I feel that, on the issues that (should) really matter, no viable candidate is going to be willing to make a change without extreme outside pressure and have elected to instead focus my efforts into grassroots political organizations.
Yeah, but not voting because of apathy is a whole different story.

[Buckeye Native 001]

^ That sounds a little extreme.

I don't think people were that noble in the past and I don't think people suck that much now.

Finally, some common-fucking-sense.

[BTinSF]

There used to be a day when the citizens of Chicago would be willing to have city bonds subsidized by themselves the taxpayers to impliment the Burnham Plan of 1909 and have the World's Fair come here DURING THE DEPRESSION just out of their civic pride and sense of being a part of something bigger than themselves. Nowadays people are so self-absorbed that they become involved in the community and city government because they are concerned about parking or their own views and not wanting to raise a finger or spend a penny of their tax dollars for anything that doesnt benefit their own little lives directly, its just fucking pathetic the self absorbed apathetic zombie mentality of people these days.

What are you ranting about? I don't know much about local elections in Chicago, but in San Francisco quite a few bond issues still pass even though I vote against most of them and will continue to until the rent control laws allow increased taxes from bonds to be passed through to renters. Even when I favor the projects, I don't favor a system that allows the 60% of the city that rents to pass taxes on the rest who own a home and to benefit from the result equally with those paying for it. But that 60% is a majority--and they keep passing the damn things.

[BTinSF]

Election day in Chicago was on Tuesday and there was near record (if not a record) low voter turnout of around 28%.

I suspect that fewer than 28% of the eligible voters have a clue about the candidates or issues and so I'm glad most of those too f*ck*ng lazy to inform themselves are also too f*ck*ng lazy to vote.

[Attrill]

What's interesting about this election in Chicago is that a lot of incumbant alderman were voted out or forced into a runoff. Some weren't that surprising (like Troutman who is under indictment and was caught saying "all alderman are hoes" on a wiretap), but other races voted out aldermen who would be safe in past elections (Beavers, Moore, Natarus).

I'd be interested to see how much of that is based on the turnout by Ward - was there a greater turnout in the wards where the incumbants were thrown out? If it was a lower turnout in those wards I have to agree with BTinSF that it is no loss when the clueless stay away from the polls.

[Neuman]

but in San Francisco quite a few bond issues still pass even though I vote against most of them and will continue to until the rent control laws allow increased taxes from bonds to be passed through to renters. Even when I favor the projects, I don't favor a system that allows the 60% of the city that rents to pass taxes on the rest who own a home and to benefit from the result equally with those paying for it.

I thought property values in terms of tax purposes in California only moved when a property was sold, so that a persons property tax payment is frozen at that level until the property is resold and reassessed. Do current rent control laws in San Francisco prevent any rent increase or just small annual % change?