P0LITICS-The most recent elections in the City of Los Angeles had less than 10% of the eligible voters go to the polls. Since voting is the backbone of democracy, there is great concern that the low voter turnout is part of a troubling trend.
In response to low voter turnout politicians have come up with ideas that include a reward for voting or to somehow force every eligible voter to vote. None of these is part of the democratic process and are counterproductive. People will vote when they feel their vote has some meaning. You must first address the apathy that is currently held by voters.
Politicians have come up with new proposals that expand the voter base by creating voter registration in concert with drivers license or vehicle registration. Such policies have little to do with low voter turnout. If the existing voters, who registered themselves, have decided not to turn out in large numbers, expanding the number of eligible voters does not increase that percentage.
The City of Los Angeles has come up with a novel way to increase the voter apathy. By holding elections so often they dilute the interest of the citizen in the voting process. Voter overload is one of the reasons for low voter turnout. The expectation that the voter will somehow be willing to invest more time in the election process is fallacious.
It is clear that in a municipal election there is generally a lower turnout than national or statewide elections. Politicians are aware of this and are taking advantage of it by putting important charter amendments in elections that they know will have low voter turnout. This allows politicians and special interests to change the laws by directing and assisting certain voters.
Recent changes to Los Angeles city charter have been done with less than 10% of the eligible voters casting ballots on these measures. Either these measures must have some minimum percentage of eligible voters casting ballots or they should be voted on in elections that will have a higher voter turnout. Such elections such as state and national offices generally have higher voter turnouts than municipal elections.
Could the Los Angeles City Council pass laws with only 10% of the Councilpersons voting? Of course not, it will be illegal and unethical. That is why votes of the City Council require what is called a quorum. This simply means that you are setting minimum number of eligible voters on that body to implement any changes in law. This is done so that a few elected officials cannot get together while other elected officials are not available and create law.
Low voter turnout is similar to passing laws without a quorum. There should be a minimum required percentage of eligible voters for any change to the charter to be approved. It might be much lower than the quorum required by an elected body but it would seem that 25% would be fair. Certainly 10% of voters is not enough participation to change long standing charters.
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The responsibility must still be with the voter and we must stop looking for politicians to correct that which benefits them. There are absentee ballots that do not require a voter to appear at a polling station. With the age of technology we must be looking at new methods that becomes more inclusive of the technology changes that are sweeping the country. With any change the possibility for voter fraud exists. There are methods to minimize such voter fraud even in this age of technology. By tying the voter to a specific computer the potential for voter fraud can be minimized.
It has become more difficult to get around Los Angeles making it more difficult for the average voter to get out and vote. This is especially true for senior citizens and those with disabilities. We should start making changes that will allow those with more difficulty in voting to have alternatives.
The failure of the voter to participate in this democracy can only lead to greater problems with uncontrolled government. As politicians see the reduction of the voter involvement with their decisions they feel more emboldened to do that which benefits them at the expense of the public.
(Clinton Galloway is the author of the fascinating book “Anatomy of a Hustle: Cable Comes to South Central LA”. This is another installment in an ongoing CityWatch series on power, influence and corruption in government … Corruption Watch. Galloway is a CityWatch contributor and can be reached here.)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 27
Pub: Mar 31, 2015
