Time to Re-Think Our Elections

http://www.alextimes.com/article.asp?article=3744&;paper=1&cat=143

Having just celebrated the Fourth of July and Alexandria’s birthday, it is appropriate that Alexandria reviews its democratic processes. The May 2 municipal election marked a low point in voter participation in Alexandria. In a city of over 140,000 people, only 15,336 came out to vote. This represents 19.7 percent of Alexandria’s registered voters — the lowest percentage in a decade and the fewest total voters since 1973.

Some active residents told me they forgot to vote this year. As one of the most educated cities in America, a city that prides itself on its civic involvement, we didn’t set a great example. We are not alone. Virginia Beach had an even lower voter turnout in its May 2nd election where only 17 percent voted. The City of Manassas Park saw less than 10 percent vote in its May municipal elections.

These numbers should cause us to question the way we handle local elections. As an incumbent who won re-election, I could say the system works and there is no need to question its effectiveness. As a member of the Democratic Party I could say, the process works fine, as Democrats won every seat on the City Council. 

So, why am I taking time to write about this?

As a city that prides itself on civic involvement, we seem to be missing something when it comes to elections. Elections should be about engaging the largest possible number of residents in decisions about the future of their community.  When less than 20 percent of registered voters take the time to vote, we are clearly lacking something.

Alexandria is one of a few municipalities in Virginia with spring elections. Experience tells us, though, that voters here and around the country are conditioned to expect fall elections. Some people told me they thought the recent city elections were a primary for next fall. 

We can keep trying to remind more people to vote or we could simply take advantage of well-learned voting customs and move to November municipal elections. Maryland has always done it this way. Cities across the Commonwealth are moving away from spring municipal elections. 

Richmond made the change to November elections for local government a few years ago and its voter turnout jumped from 17 to 42 percent. In Alexandria, that would mean about 34,000 voters in a local election. 

Virginia Beach voted in the last few weeks to move their elections to the fall after experiencing that dismal 17 percent turnout. The City of Manassas Park recently voted to move their elections to the fall where instead of 10 percent of the vote, they often see more than 50 percent of voters participate. 

Why don’t we do it?

Some say that November elections would bring out voters who don’t follow local government, are not well-informed so shouldn’t vote. This argument doesn’t hold sway with me. An election by its nature encourages people to learn about the candidates and issues. I have talked to many voters that have never been to a city council meeting, but none-the-less take time to prepare themselves to vote. Having even just a few more people paying attention to local government would benefit public discourse and debate.

Some say that fall elections will take focus away from local issues.  This has not been the case in Arlington County or Richmond. In a Dillon rule state like Virginia, where the state legislature has enormous powers over local government, running Delegate and State Senate elections at the same time as City Council would help emphasize the strong regulatory and policy ties between state and local government. That could help improve debate about local matters.

A third argument against fall elections is that there would be too many people on the ballot. In Maryland, all elections occur in the fall and it does not seem to hurt their efforts. Sure, there is some voter fall-off as people choose not to vote for every office on the ballot, but you still end up with more people participating in local races. Besides, to bring back an earlier concern, isn’t voter fall-off a sign that voters are capable of deciding for themselves when they are informed enough to vote?

As we think about ways to better inform voters and increase participation, we should also discuss an additional change.  In order to ensure the responsiveness of the government, we should consider moving to staggered terms, where perhaps two council members run every fall. They have staggered terms in Arlington, Virginia Beach, Charlottesville and many other areas of the Commonwealth. Getting to know six or seven school board candidates and twelve or thirteen council candidates in a few months isn’t easy. Running fewer candidates at a time would provide voters with more time for debate and discussion. 

Some voters appreciate the ability, under our current system, to try to turn over the whole Council or School Board at one time. That would certainly be desirable if either body acted so egregiously that voters wanted an overhaul. But staggered terms don’t limit the ability to send a signal to our elected officials. In fact, staggered terms provide voters with a chance to send a signal to elected officials yearly, rather than having to wait three years. In that way, it could serve to improve the responsiveness of government, not weaken it.

Expanding voter participation is a goal I hope everybody embraces. Moving to fall elections only requires a majority vote by the City Council. Moving to staggered terms would require a change to the City Charter approved by the House of Delegates, the State Senate and the Governor. In the laboratory of democracy that is Alexandria, we should constantly seek out ways to expand participation in our local affairs. There is always room for improvement.

Rob Krupicka is a member of Alexandria City Council.

12:36:35 PM