Why Your Local Election Matters

After the 3rd Republican Presidential debate in Boulder, the focus on the Presidential election is reaching a fever pitch even though social media couldn’t really be bothered with yet another debate in a field of ever more desperate Republican candidates.

But I want to turn your attention to the many other elections that are going besides the one for President

In America, thanks to our federal system, what happens at the city, county, and state levels affects our daily lives far more abjectly than most things the federal government does. Indeed, in many matters the federal government is more a nuisance than a help. In most cases federal programs don’t operate themselves in each state but rather the federal government funds individual state agencies to do the work for them at a local level that makes sense to each place. Only in moments of dire need does the federal government step in. Our system was built in a such a way to give states a certain amount of autonomy and although states don’t have as much freedom as perhaps the Founders intended, states have a great deal of levity when it comes to the implementation of Federal programs like the Affordable Care Act.

The reason your local election matters is that even if the Federal government remakes the country with a new vision it will be up to local officials to implement those changes (or not) and determine what is best in your town/county/state. 

The difficulty with local election is they tend not to be terribly high profile, especially during the primaries where candidates for each party are selected. You might see some signs around town with people you’ve never heard of or even a flyer for a townhall of you are lucky. Unfortunately, with local elections, you have to seek out information. The nice thing is that is fairly easy if you are willing to plug into your local media. These candidates will be mentioned by local media, especially on social media (Facebook and Twitter are good places to start) and you can find primary election information easily as well. If you are registered to vote, you’ll get a ballot and a book with a little blurb about the candidates in it. You can read over that in order to get a feel for them and make a moderately informed decision. With just 1-2 hours of reading you can be ready for a local election, even off year elections! You can also sign up for a sitting representatives’ email list (especially your congressman) and keep up on things that way as well. If you really want to go next level you can go by the local party headquarters and get the latest information or contact info of people. Because local elections vary so wildly, it’s hard to create an online database of all this information and all these candidates. To see what offices are up for election and who has registered to run, a call to the county clerk and recorder’s office (it’s often online now) is an easy to find where everything stands.

It takes more work than the endlessly marketed presidential primaries and general election but it’s worth your involvement. Making your voice heard and your opinions known at the local level is vitally important. 

I posted an article this past month about how the Republicans have taken over state legislatures and governorships of many states. How did they do that? Because they mobilized at the local level. President Obama did a great job of mobilizing voters in a national election where young voters really matter but the elections that affect property taxes, sales taxes, and other matters that directly impact us in our everyday living happens at city hall, county hall, and the state house. For progressives, making a mark in these races and in these halls of local power is vitally important not just in 2016 but in 2018 (off presidential year) and 2020.