The Daily Gamecock

Local elections have historically had lower turnout. Here's why some USC community members say they're important

<p>A sign that reads "Stroll to the Poll" on Greene St. on Nov. 3, 2024. The official election date in the United States is Nov. 5.</p>
A sign that reads "Stroll to the Poll" on Greene St. on Nov. 3, 2024. The official election date in the United States is Nov. 5.

In presidential election years, voters focus on the national election rather than local ones. But some Columbia community members told the Daily Gamecock that local elections are important.

Low voter turnout is a national issue. Only 15 to 17 percent of voters cast a ballot in local elections, according to the National Civic League.

Local elections often hold less weight for many individuals and feel less important, said Sean Deuty, fourth-year international business major and elections commissioner for Student Government. But, he said they have a more direct impact on individuals. 

I think also your vote carries a lot more weight for your local elections, ” Deuty said, “I think it's a good way to actually feel like you're represented where you're living.” 

College students face external barriers to voting in local elections, including being deemed “temporary residents” and facing intentional exclusivity from the greater community like Columbia, Joshua Meyer-Gutbrod, a teaching assistant professor of political science at USC, said.

Most constituents within a local community ... would rather have you vote in your home district, as opposed to influencing this local election in a way that would pull it maybe away from the preferences of those people who they think are permanent,” Meyer-Gutbrod said. 

Meyer-Gutbrod said this is a “shortsighted way to look at students” that discourages them from remaining in Columbia and contributing to the local economy. He said he doesn’t think it needs to be this way. 

We need you to bring your good ideas into our community and not just come into Columbia, spend four years here having fun and learning things, and then leave,” he said. 

Any person can make an impact on any election, Meyer-Gutrod said. Five years ago in Virginia the House of Delegates drew names out of bowl to break a tie vote, Meyer-Gutrod said

Your vote could absolutely impact a mayoral race, a city council race or even a state legislative race that could, in turn, shift the tone of who gets to sit at the table when state legislatures make decisions,” Meyer-Gutbrod said. 

While one person’s vote may not flip a South Carolina Senate race, in a local election, it just might, he said. 

South Carolina has had close elections before. In Marlboro in 2022, Joe Cunningham won the the county's vote for govenor with less than 51% of the vote. A similar situation happened in Sumter for a senate seat, where Krystle Matthews won with 50.5%, according to CNN.

With local elections having the possibility of being so close, it is important to be informed when voting and find candidates that align with individuals views, said Christine Hait, the president of the League of Women Voters in Columbia.

“(College students) need to do their homework as much as they can,” Hait said, “They really need to know what are important issues to them.”

Meyer-Gutbrod said that the longevity of campaign seasons and constant inundation of election media can take a mental toll on individuals and discourage them from voting in local elections. 

One barrier to voting in local elections is the longevity of campaign seasons, as well as the constant inundation of election media, Meyer-Gutbrod said. This can take a mental toll on voters which, in turn, discourages them from voting in local elections.

This toll has a disproportionate effect on groups of lower socioeconomic status, Meyer-Gutbrod said. 

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If you’re working three jobs or two jobs and trying to put up, deal with childcare on top of that, you just have less mental space to deal with local conditions,” Meyer-Gutbrod said. 

Having less free time to devote to paying attention to local elections due to socioeconomic factors can help explain why there is less voter turnout in local elections, as well as turnout that is less representative of community demographics, Meyer-Gutbrod said.

The state of South Carolina has changed processes to make the polls more accessible. Now, voters have two weeks to vote early in person. Curbside voting is also available to voters during in-person early voting or on Election Day. 

“While sizable shares of the public vote either consistently or not at all, many people vote intermittently,” and “these intermittent voters often determine the outcome of elections,” according to Pew Research Center.

Between 2018 and 2022, while 70% of U.S. adult citizens were eligible to participate in all three elections in that time period, only 37% voted in all three, the Pew Research Center reported. 

The best thing that anyone can do to overcome this toll is “just vote,” Meyer-Gutbrod said.


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