At the bottom of this post is a link to a video that was sent to me by a friend. It's a short video, but very interesting concerning voter apathy. Some may find it more than just interesting. Some may find it very telling.
In a little over a week voters will go to the polls to elect a governor, US Senator, Congressmen, etc. But in 6 months (April 2015) voters will also be asked in Shawnee to elect a mayor and 4 members of the city council.
Let's look at what happened in 3 previous elections. Figures are for Shawnee only.
2010 (Governor) Registered voters 40,639 Voted 20,765 pct voting 51.10%
2012 (President) Registered voters 42,344 Voted 30,718 pct voting 72.54%
2012 (Local) Registered voters 40,105 Voted 5,229 pct voting 13.04%
Let's look at the above. Especially the city elections. Those numbers are abominable. Think about it from this point of view, look out your front door. Then realize that approximately 1.3 people (a little more than one person) on your block has determined who will be the mayor of the city and the council rep in your ward. Ironically, it is the city government that has more of an effect on our daily lives than any other. Safety (police/fire), roads, property taxes, snow removal etc etc etc. Also, the city government is the one where citizens have the easiest access and ability to voice their opinions.
A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to kid the mayor. He had written an item in the city's newsletter basically about the above subject. I teased him and asked how much of previous posts of mine, on this blog, on this subject, did he lean on.
Anyway, here is the link I mentioned:
http://www.ted.com/talks/dave_meslin_the_antidote_to_apathy?language=en
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