Our Voice: Low voter turnout, engagement disappointing

Before every election we write an editorial encouraging voters to participate in the upcoming election.

After every election, it seems, we write the obligatory editorial lamenting low voter turnout.

Dwindling voter turnout is nothing new. It’s been a downward trend nearly every year since the 1950s, when more than 70 percent of voters turned out for mid-term elections. But this year’s results were particularly disappointing, especially in the Mid-Columbia.

As of Monday only 36.4 percent of the state’s eligible voters had bothered to mark and return their ballots. Turnout was worse than the state average in Benton and Franklin counties.

That really surprised us, especially the low voter turnout in the city of Pasco. Here’s a city that in the past 10 months has experienced a police shooting that sparked outrage and protests on a national stage and a teachers strike that stalled school and divided the community.

Yet only four counties in the state had lower voter turnout than Franklin County. One of those four was Benton.

Citizens there also called for more representation from Latinos. Yet we saw few Latino candidates and no measurable increase in voter registrations or votes by Hispanics.

Some would say we should abandon our efforts to increase voter turnout.

Jeff Greenfield, an award-winning television journalist and author, reportedly once said, “It strikes me as a sound, honest statement for a prospective voter to say: 'Look, I haven't given this election a minute's thought, and it's just not fair for me to cancel out the vote of someone who actually gives a damn.' Indeed, it's not just sound and honest - it's the ethically responsible thing to do.”

Perhaps our focus should turn to motivating more people to care enough about what’s going on around them to be informed about the issues and take some responsibility for the future of their communities. But if they’re too lazy mark a ballot and put it in the mail they’re not likely to invest the energy to read the voter’s pamphlet (also mailed to their home) let alone pick up a newspaper or visit reliable news websites to about the issues.

Perhaps we’re better off with the very few who “actually give a damn” making all the decisions for everyone.

This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 3:45 PM with the headline "Our Voice: Low voter turnout, engagement disappointing."