Rettke: Where did all the voters go?

On Tuesday, DeKalb County voters elected new leaders in all its largest municipalities, new faces for school boards and city councils and indicated they didn’t want chickens in their backyards.

Congrats to all the election winners. Pity about the chickens.

There’s one thing I’m still hung up on, however: Where did all the voters go?

According to the DeKalb County Clerk & Recorders Office, voter turnout in DeKalb County hit 14.59%, higher than the 2019 Consolidated Election which didn’t even hit 10%. But so much lower than November’s General Election, which saw over 75% voter turnout.

Echoing the 2019 reaction, an election judge, Steve Nemeth, told our reporter Katrina Milton Tuesday’s turnout was “one of the slowest” he’s seen and “such a contrast to last November...when we were swamped.”

We see this consistently across local elections: a drastic dip in voter turnout, those who vote getting the say to choose who represents them the next four years even though the majority of voters didn’t vote.

I can’t get past the fact that decisions will now be made with electeds and on issues decided Tuesday by a fraction of those we know (going off of November) are capable of voting in our communities. I’m not saying the candidates chosen won’t do a good job--I think new blood and new ideas coming into leadership roles in the county is a good thing. Again, congrats to all the winners.

But I’m also saying there seems to persist this phenomenon that voters simply can’t be bothered to dig into local elections even when the stakes remain the same.

Take the chicken referendum, for example: 53.94%, or 1,970 voters in DeKalb voted against keeping chickens in their backyard, while 46.06%, or 1,682 voters were for the measure. Yes, it was an advisory one, and the DeKalb City Council could still do what they want with an ordinance (they likely won’t bring it for a vote), but the point of this referendum was for city officials to get a better idea of who wanted what.

An informal poll of 3,652 voices doesn’t exactly speak for the people in a city of about 43,000. Yes a little more than half say they don’t want the option of having chickens. But at 46%, a case could be made that about half do want the option. But there’s little more the City can do (or be forced to do) when only a handful take the initiative to participate in the poll.

This argument could be used for all the races held Tuesday. In many races, winners were decided by just a couple hundred votes. In many precincts, even a fraction of that. In DeKalb’s Ward 2 race, in Precinct 4, where the polling place is at Westminster Presbyterian Church, only 8 votes were cast.

By contrast, the DeKalb mayoral race saw 42 votes cast in that same precinct. And in November, election judge Frank Adams-Watters, who said he’d been assigned to Precinct 4 the past three or four years, said the day was “the busiest I’ve seen it.”

Is the low turnout for local elections a lack of interest by voters? A lack of knowledge that the election is happening, compared to the often years-long and very public campaigns which are hyped prior to General Elections? A lack of interest? A cynicism which has permeated our election reality? A little bit of everything?

I get it. I’m a millennial, so I generally fall into the civic cynicism category that I’m sure many feel for local elections (and federal ones, too). I vote, but my philosophy often falls into a “What’s the point, nothing is ever going to change,” mental spiral. I don’t believe in shame-encouraging people to vote, either. Telling someone “You didn’t even used to have this right,” is not a good way to encourage meaningful action.

They should want to participate in the issues.

That argument is easier on the federal elections, though. You’re never going to shop at the same grocery store as the President of the United States, or send your kids to the same school as those who sit on the Board of Education.

These are chances to perform our civic duty and more importantly, they’re our opportunity to use our voice and our collective power to create change. To choose someone who’s relatable, willing to listen and work towards the goals you set for them.

Tuesday’s voter turnout was higher than last Consolidated Election, but still dismal. And if November is any indication, I know we can do better.

If we don’t attempt to contribute to change, change will never happen.