Why a No Vote on Measure A Is Good for S.B.’s Election Process

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The group promoting Measure A on the November ballot says the higher voter turnout of partisan even-year elections would equate to greater voter participation in our local elections if we merge them together. As they see it, when it comes to voters, more is better — end of discussion. If that is true, then why not put a measure on the ballot to make voting mandatory?

But is more always better? If so, then Karl Rove must be a champion of democracy. Using wedge issues like abortion and gay marriage, he succeeded in bringing millions of voters — who used to stay home for lack of interest — to the polls. Their level of interest on issues such as foreign policy did not increase for Rove’s efforts — but more voters did come to the polls. If they had stayed home in 2000, Americans would not be dying in Iraq today.

Ideally, all Americans — and all Santa Barbarans — would study the issues and make informed decisions at the polls. But if people are so disinterested that they are unwilling to learn about the issues and the candidates on the ballot, democracy is not better served by their participation.

In Santa Barbara, everyone who votes in an even-year election is automatically sent a sample ballot and all voting materials needed for the local election the following year. If they are registered as “permanent absentee,” they are even mailed the ballot itself, which simply needs to be filled out and returned by mail. There is also the added benefit of extensive media coverage and community dialogue about the candidates and issues involved, and the only mailings they receive are about those local candidates and issues.

There is only one possible reason that some of those who vote in partisan even-year elections choose not to vote in our local elections, the obvious fact the backers of Measure A refuse to acknowledge: Those voters simply do not care about the vitally important local issues that Measure A proponents would have them decide. These people would care no more in even-numbered years than in odd, but the remedy for their disinterest offered by this measure is to wave a list of names that mean absolutely nothing to them and say, “vote for three.” Perhaps the pro-Measure A camp should also provide a coin for them to toss.

More likely, since they are turning out to vote in the partisan races, they will vote for whoever their party recommends. That may be less random than tossing a coin, but in no way constitutes greater voter participation — only more voters.

In exchange for these disinterested voters, we lose the extensive media coverage of local elections offered by odd-year elections, and the community discussion that accompanies a uniquely local election. Moreover, we essentially turn our local elections into party affairs. Look at how partisan our County Supervisor elections have become.

When I first ran for the City Council nearly 30 years ago, I had no money to speak of and no party ties, only an issue I felt was not being addressed by either the council or other candidates. By becoming a candidate, I was able to draw media attention to that issue and force other candidates to address it at the well-covered candidate forums. In the next election, I won a seat on the council and was reelected twice.

Beneath the din of the statewide and national elections in an even-numbered year, my message would never have been heard. In fact, given the enormous expense of campaigning in that atmosphere, I probably would not have tried. How many other qualified candidates who do not have extensive resources or established party ties will lose out if this measure passes?

Burying our local elections under the massive noise and partisan division of state and national elections in even-numbered years will not improve our democratic process; quite the opposite. Please, keep our elections local and nonpartisan. Vote no on Measure A.

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