More thoughts about Toledo voter turnout - April 2014

(My comment to an April 2014 ToledoTalk.com thread.)

"Give me a national holiday for election day ..."

Does that mean a day off from work? If so, would that be a holiday only on presidential elections or every November general election? If the latter, then the 75 percent of the eligible voting public who does not vote would love the holiday idea.

Is the goal of the election day holiday to make it easier for hard-core voters to vote or to increase voter turnout?

What about other elections that occur in March, May, and September? Are those holidays too?

At least locally, voter turnout appeared to be higher in the past when it was "harder" to vote. In olden days, most people actually had to vote on election day.

Toledo's most recent primary for mayor and city council at-large was held in September 2013, and Toledo's voter turnout was only around 15 percent. That includes all types of voting and not just what occurs on election day.

If the goal of an election day holiday is to increase voter turnout, then we need local election day holidays for primaries too. 15 percent??

If you believe that voting is important, then locally, I would consider the election year that involves choosing a mayor and the six city council at-large seats to be Toledo's most important election. Yet Toledo's voter turnout for the November 2013 election was only 25 percent.

(culling more info from old posts)

Both losers in the 2005 and 2009 Toledo mayoral elections had more votes than the winner in the 2013 election.

Vote counts:

2005:
Carty Finkbeiner	47,351	61%
Jack Ford	29,169	38%
	76,520
-
2009:
Mike Bell	35,118	52%
Keith Wilkowski	31,987	48%
	67,105
-
2013:
Mike Collins	28,159	55%
Mike Bell	21,721	43%
-	49,880

In 2013, nearly 27,000 fewer votes were cast for the Toledo mayor's race compared to 2005. That seems like a dramatic drop-off for only eight years.

In the November 1993 Toledo mayoral election, Carty Finkbeiner defeated Mike Ferner by 672 votes. In that election, 92,470 votes were cast.

In the November 2013 Toledo mayoral election, 49,880 votes were cast. That seems like a dramatic drop-off in only 20 years.

Toledo's population in 1990 was 332,943.
Toledo's population in 2010 was 287,208.

Obviously, the declining population explains some or much of the drop in voter turnout, but relatively speaking, the vote count in 2013 seems significantly lower compared to 1993.

I don't know how an election day holiday changes the growing apathy toward local politics. But a part of me sees no problem with voter apathy. It's a lifestyle choice.

2007 post that includes thoughts from 2005:
Theory: The non-voters are happier than the voters

Excerpts:

I know it's fashionable to rip on people who don't vote, but when the majority of people aren't voting, maybe they know something the minority don't. Like in the end, it's a waste of time to pay attention to politics because we'll get screwed over in the long run anyway no matter who wins. A tax cut here, that's nice. Oh look, taxes went up over there. That service is implemented, but another one got cut.

You know that a certain percentage of voters have no clue what's going on in politics. So why should a voter like that be praised just because he or she went to the polls, but someone who chooses to ignore politics is criticized for not voting?

Most of the non-voters won't gripe because they don't care. And I don't have a problem with their non-caring. Maybe they're too busy simply living to care about politics. They're focused on doing the best they can to provide for themselves, their family, and their community. And they don't need politics for that.

Obviously, voting is not the only way to help a city. In fact, voting may be the least that someone can do.

---

My other comment:

Why not change election day from a Tuesday to a Saturday?

"why NOT extend the hours to make it a week long process?"

The vote-by-mail period in Ohio exists for several weeks. It's still called an "absentee ballot," but since it's unnecessary to provide a reason, it's basically vote-by-mail. The state of Oregon has been using a vote-by-mail system as their main voting method for many years.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vote-by-mail_in_Oregon
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Oregon

The U.S. state of Oregon established vote-by-mail as the standard mechanism for voting with Ballot Measure 60, a citizen's initiative, in 1998. The measure made Oregon the first state in the United States to conduct its elections exclusively by mail.

Vote-by-mail in Oregon has maintained a high level of support since it was passed in 1998. A survey done in 2003 by Dr. Priscilla Southwell, a professor of Political Science at University of Oregon, shows that 81% of respondents favored the vote-by-mail system. 19% favored voting at the polls. The poll also shows high favorability among both registered Democrats (85%) and Republicans (76%). 30% of respondents said they voted more often since vote-by-mail was enacted.

2012 story

Oregon is one of two states that employ a vote-by-mail only system. Voters receive an information pamphlet three weeks before the election, followed a few days later by their ballots.

With an average voter turnout of 60.13 – 8.5 percentage points above the national average – the system is working for Oregonians.

“There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that we see high turnout because of vote-by-mail,” says Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown. “It’s extremely convenient and accessible; it’s secure and cost-effective.”

From the state of Ohio website

All Ohio voters have the opportunity to vote in the next Primary or General Election from the convenience of their own homes by requesting an absentee ballot. You can request your ballot for each individual election beginning on January 1 or 90 days before the date of an election, whichever is earlier.

Your request must be received by your local county board of elections by noon the third day before the election (usually a Saturday). However, you should submit your request as far in advance of the election as possible to ensure there is sufficient time for the board to mail you a ballot and for you to timely return that ballot.

I know that it seems strange to receive paper in the mail, use a ball-point pen to answer questions on paper, fold paper, place paper in an envelope, stamp it, and snail-mail the paper back, which is why I choose to vote with a computer touchscreen on election day. But if the concern is long lines on presidential election years, then choosing Ohio's vote-by-mail method is the simple solution.

#toledo - #politics