We are fast approaching Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 8), which means that it’s time for a little discussion on exactly why we here at The Spotlight get so agitated about seeing folks head to the polls every year.
It’s certainly no secret Americans are not voting as much as they used to. Whether that has to do with quality of politicians, our go-go lifestyle or too much television, we can’t honestly say, but we can say this is particularly bad in local election years like this one.
To use a handy example, in 2009 something like 60,000 people across Albany County headed to the polls to select their local leaders. That sounds pretty good until you consider the fact there were nearly 200,000 registered voters in the county at that time, for a voter turnout of around 30 percent.
(Oh, and by the way, right now there are about 60,000 county residents of voting age who evidently haven’t even bothered to register to vote. The numbers are similarly poor in other parts of the area.)
Things looked a lot more impressive in 2008, when there was the highest turnout by percentage since the ’60s, driven on by a remarkable presidential race. But the assumption that the contest would be the precursor to a new era of heightened political awareness has, for the most part, not come to pass. If more people are getting involved, it’s to weigh in on national issues, not local ones.
They should, though. At the end of the day what your local government is doing may very well have a bigger impact on your day-to-day life. Local governments pave and plow roads, maintain sewer lines and police our communities. They also levy taxes, so on Election Day the people who vote are literally controlling who is behind part of that dreaded property tax bill.
That’s really the crux of this whole diatribe. Your vote keeps politicians honest and working for you (and they are often very well compensated, we should add), and it’s simply stunning so few people are willing to take five minutes to exercise that control.
Every election cycle, and especially during local contests, we endeavor to bring our readers the information they need. This year, we’ve partnered with the Albany County and Saratoga County Leagues of Women Voters to bring our readers voters guides, and included one in the latest edition of the Schenectady County Spotlight, as well. We’ve also sponsored candidate debates all over the area, and covered them in our pages and on spotlightnews.com.
If you’re one of the unregistered residents of this county, it’s too late for this go around, but registering is easy. Simply visit online or call your board of elections and you can get them whole thing done by mail.
To those who are signed up: Go out there and be heard.