Voters show up to vote at the University of Cincinnati's Langsam Library on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.
Voter turnout at the University of Cincinnati’s (UC) on-campus polling place was dismally low during this week’s municipal election. Only four of the more than 600 registered voters assigned to the polling location in the back of Langsam Library cast their ballots on Tuesday, according to unofficial data from the Hamilton County Board of Elections.
That represents the third lowest turnout among 564 precincts in Hamilton County, the data shows. Two polling locations in Terrace Park had zero voters cast their ballots, but those precincts only have four and 11 registered voters assigned respectively.
Of the 5,683 registered voters in Cincinnati’s 12th ward, which encompasses the university as well as parts of Corryville and CUF – the neighborhood comprised of Clifton Heights, University Heights and Fairview – only 9% cast their ballot, election data shows.
Turnout at the Langsam Library polling location was also low during last year’s general election as well, with only 15% of registered voters showing up. Presidential election years typically have the highest levels of voter turnout.
In previous odd-year elections, turnout at the precinct has been less than 2%, data shows.
The precinct was created after the 2016 general election in response to a growing number of registered voters on the university’s campus, said Sherry Poland, director of the Hamilton County Board of Elections.
Only students living on main campus are assigned to that precinct, Poland said, adding registered voters who live off campus aren’t assigned there due to logistical complications like parking.
Poland said she isn’t sure why turnout at the on-campus polling location has been so low.
At least part of that could be attributed to an increase in early and absentee voting stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. Voter turnout is usually low during municipal elections, or at least it has been in recent years, Poland said.
Since the 1980s, countywide turnout in municipal elections has declined from 60% to around 30% in recent years, according to board of elections data. This last election had a turnout of just over 26%.
“So, municipal elections that take place in an odd numbered year tend to be the lowest in terms of turnout,” said Stephen Mockabee, associate professor of political science at UC.
“Now, there can be exceptions to that, of course, if it's a very hotly contested race, or if there are some ballot issues that bring people out,” Mockabee said. “But in general, we would expect turnout to be in the in the range that it was Tuesday.”
Many Americans don’t follow politics very closely and are uninformed about many issues, according to Mockabee, who added there’s also a sense that elections, besides those for high office, are unimportant.
That sense among citizens that their votes don’t make a difference, combined with a lack of trust in government, contribute to low voter turnout, Mockabee said.
But a lack of participation in municipal elections could pose serious consequences for local government. In Cincinnati, this last election cycle saw votes for mayor, city council, school board and a charter amendment that, if passed, would have changed the way council operates.
“... These really are important votes. But I think the reality is that many Americans don't see it that way and that's why they don't show up,” he said. “But I think that voting in local elections is important, because in our federal decentralized political system, a lot of important decisions and policies are made and implemented at the local level.”
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November 05, 2021 at 09:00AM
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On-campus polling place sees abysmally low turnout in municipal election - The News Record
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