Voting
Yesterday was election day in a few places. Where I live, we voted on only a single issue: for three local school board members. Our district has 63,565 registered voters. The highest vote among the 10 candidates was 3,415 votes: thus, the most successful candidate got the vote of about 5%, 1 of 20 or so registered voters in the school district. 6,982 (9%) actually voted, as each voter could vote for three.
My personal assessment – that only one of the three candidates I voted for won – is that any of the candidates on the ballot could have done a good job. They were well qualified. I hope they all remain active.
2019 was an ‘off-off-year’ for election.
One year from now, 2020, will be another story. Yesterday there was a single issue on my ballot; next year, many.
As always, the end story will be voter turnout. Conservatively, over one-third of the registered voters will not even vote, well informed or totally uninformed.
The strategists know exactly the demographics and the patterns and the techniques. They are well informed.