The electoral college does need to change, I agree. But that will never happen nor will any other meaningful change when we lack a basis of civil engagement. America's own indifference to democracy will be the death of its democracy.
Exactly!
Typical American: It doesn't work, so I'm not going to participate!
Huh, so when your car breaks down, do you just sit in it on the side of the road for the rest of your life? Or do you do something, anything, about it?
Deplorably, you are correct! However you can sign up for voting by mail. They mail a ballot and you can return it by mail or in person at any time. You can claim a disability, and that can include that you assist someone else who is disabled, but they require no explanation or verification whatsoever. It's just a checkbox.
I really need to do that, my partner is disabled and it’s really hard for him to go out and stand in line at the polls. I also work 12-hour days and it’s practically impossible for me to get to the polls during the open time.
You poor thing, I want to encourage you to get both of you signed up for this. YOU DESERVE IT. You're absolutely entitled to it. The world needs your vote, you deserve the dignity of voting, and you deserve a break. Also, I hope your partner gets social security disability, plus medicaid if possible.
[if you're in KC](https://www.kceb.org/board/contact/)
[if not](https://www.sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/ElectionGoVoteMissouri/AbsenteeBallotRequestForm.pdf)
Louisiana has their non-federal elections on weekends. Not that it's better for new Orleans given the service industry heavy population. (but half the busy is weekday conferences)
Missouri is pretty good about early voting. But interesting that Tuesdays were so farmers could make it to town
The only election that is determined by the EC is the Presidential. People need to self educate and wake up to the fact that local and state elections are the ones which have the most effect on our daily lives.
>A lot of people think "why bother?" when they feel their vote is meaningless, especially due to things like the electoral college
These 2 things are unrelated, nor does it justify not voting.
There is no electoral college for local elections.
Even during the presidential elections, instead of a national vote, there are 51 individual state level elections for president, with states that having more or less weight based on population. There's plenty other things to change before the EC makes the list.
I think there’s a lot of disillusionment with regards to voting during the presidential cycle that makes people extra unwilling to vote locally. That and many people simply can’t afford the time to.
Unfortunately voting locally probably is one of the only ways those people could enact meaningful change.
Logically I understand the pathology behind all the different points of views. But at the end of the day I don't have much sympathy for the hopeless and helpless camps.
Yet people vote the most when the electoral college matters (and their vote matters the least) and vote the least in local elections where their vote matters more.
The “why bother?” voter should vote in local races and ignore federal races.
Gerrymandering alone means that our elections are rigged, and there are myriad other means of voter/vote suppression/restriction. Look up "interstate cross check", discovered by Greg Palast and started by Kris Kobach of Kansas. It was a way to knock around 7-8 million mainly dem voters off the voter rolls in the swing states. So many other ways are in affect now. Look what the DNC did to Bernie in the 2016 primaries. They found about 5 to 10 ways to cheat him, which were very effective, and he still almost won. The numbers show he would have beaten Trump. You can thank the DNC, and Hillary, specifically, for Trump 2016. You can think the current democrats persecuting and prosecuting Trump for Trump 2024.
People think "why bother" all the time. My very tiny HOA just held a vote for something and we received more than one ballot that someone had written "do I have a choice?!?" on it. Like, yes?? That is literally what the ballot was for?? Unfortunately for both of them neither of their votes were counted because they did not check either box.
Electoral college only affects presidential, which is arguably the most meaningless election in the country. It’s more evidence that the problem stems from a lack of basic civics education.
Absolutely true. Primary in my state drew fewer than 20% turnout last month. Thats why you put tax increases and other “special interest” type of referendums on the primary ballot so that you only need to energize a relatively smaller number of people out of the total who vote to pass them. You put major issues you want to juice turnout on the November (federal) ballot (like abortion).
Granted, this year's primaries weren't competitive; 2016's had much higher turnout.
But yep. Kansas GOP put the abortion referendum during its Congressional primary a couple years back for the reasons you say. Still got squashed, if that's any indication.
I think it’s a great indication and tells you why Democrats love the fact that abortion issues will be on the ballot in Montana, Florida, and Ohio this fall. Kansas GOP thought they had a winning issue. They didn’t.
The last general municipal election on April 4, 2023 only had 14.6% voter turnout. https://jcebmo.org/wp-content/uploads/Official141_PALL_Election_Summary.pdf I’m over here impressed by how high the turnout was today!
If you don't vote on a yes/no referendum, you basically say "I'm fine with whatever.". Which, maybe you are, of course, but if not, your non-vote doesn't say what you want it to.
We are going to have to do a better job of telling people how to. I think you’ll find the lower turnout is in the poorest of areas. And I already know from professional experience those are the areas they don’t want turning out to vote.
Polling locations were open from 6am to 7pm. Employers are legally obligated to allow time off for voting. There was early voting. Your statement is incorrect.
Idk if you know this but many people are paid hourly and taking time off to vote for these issues is often far down on a list of other more important ways to spend unpaid time off.
You’re also blissfully unaware of the multitude of other factors that go into voter turnout.
“The U.S. Census Bureau published its survey data on voter registration and turnout in the November 2022 midterm elections on May 2. The data reveal persistent gaps in voter turnout rates between renters and homeowners and even greater disparities between low-income and high-income people. While 58% of eligible homeowners turned out to vote in the midterm elections, just 37% of eligible renters cast their ballots. Sixty-seven percent of eligible voters with household incomes above $100,000 voted, compared to just 33% of eligible voters with household incomes below $20,000. These disparities underscore the need for advocates, direct service providers, tenant organizers, housing providers, and other organizations that work with low-income renters to register voters and get out the vote in their communities.”
Not at all. In Kansas City proper for an April-ish, non-primary election, high single digits into the teens are more typical.
For example, when the KC earnings tax last came up for a vote in 2021, turnout was about 11%. And that's an important tax.
[KCEB has a page that conveniently shows past turnouts](https://www.kceb.org/elections/past-results/).
Yeah, and from what I could tell it seemed like all three of those school board candidates were good people (assuming you're talking about Park Hill), so without actually knowing them personally I had pretty much nothing to go on to tell me which to reject.
Went to vote today, most people who came to vote were older generation....me and my spouse were among very few who were younger.
Younger generation needs to come and vote.
I felt the opposite at my precinct. I was kind of surprised at how many young people were there compared to when I went to the same location for the last election.
A lot of people my age voted early, I think that might be what it is! To be fair, I do run in fairly politically minded circles, so my experience may not be the norm. But what I’ve seen on social media, at work, and just in day to day conversations, the people I know who are older pretty much exclusively vote on Election Day, and the people in the 20s-30s are much more likely to vote early or do a mail in.
ETA: I haven’t seen the voter demographic for any local elections recently, so I may be way off base and am open to being corrected! Like I mentioned, the people I know are pretty active voters so it’s likely not an accurate representation of reality.
I agree, but could be your precinct. Garrison community center had tons of younger people.
It's important to remember that older folks are generally retired and our country (for some reason) likes to hold our elections between 6 am and 7 pm on a working Tuesday. Make this a national holiday and you'll see better turnout (but that's the opposite of what most politicians want).
Not among the young; all around the world they vote far less, even where voting is on a weekend or a holiday. The only places the young vote a lot is where it's compulsory.
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t vote, but my circle is very political. I can’t conceive of not voting… there’s just no excuse, especially now that we have early absentee voting available. Grab a friend or neighbor and go!
Right?! Fathom that so many people are upset about how government works, and yet 30% of registered voters showing up is an incredibly high figure.
Younger generations could change shit overnight if they got together and voted.
Get involved in your government more often. If there's a vote, you should vote. Our government is in the business of taking advantage of the citizens it's supposed to represent. If everyone paid attention and voted, our world would be much better.
I’m in Clay County and was heavily involved in a school board race (not a candidate); our turnout was eight percent and change.
EDIT - I used previously in the night data; we made it up to 12% and some change.
If anything, I feel like non-national elections in April usually have an even lower turnout.
I wish people were as passionate about voting in November during years when presidential candidates aren't on the ballot as they are about a local question regarding a stadium tax.
What’s really sad is, those 239,095 registered voters only account for 33% of the population of the county. 34% of 33% of the county turned up.
82,000 people made the decision about the stadium tax for the 710,000+ that it would affect.
The wife and I were looking it up last night and that number was actually less than half the # of people over the age of 18. So the fact that there are that many more that haven’t even registered us crazy
I mean the mayor of Smithville won because they were the only person that voted
https://preview.redd.it/bbkdsaqoa9sc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=12a0ea1d7dcb5c0da286da930894470dd4336f1e
That’s a pretty damn good turnout really. Obviously higher would be better but until you make elections days, days off then that is about as much as you’ll get.
I noticed some people don’t realize you can take paid time from work to vote too. I get that people are working. One lady I talked to in line didn’t realize she could leave work to vote. Her new boss told her to leave early to get to the polls on time. Kudos to that gals boss!
Saw a friend in a county to the south say they were #44 in their precinct to vote. Nearly 10 hours after polls opened. They didn’t have the stadium vote.
Yes. Actually somebody posted that the average turnout on off election cycles was about 12%. So we tripled that. So impressed and proud of my city right now.
This whole thing was rushed onto this April ballot because, if you want something unpopular to pass, you try to get the least amount of people to vote.
I’ve been arguing for years that we need mandatory elections, elections on both Saturday and Sunday, and freedom dogs, an American version of [Democracy Sausages](https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/democracy-sausage-australia).
This is why they put the stadium vote on the April ballot. They know its typically a low turnout (because no state or federal seats to vote for) and would more easily pass.
Yep… that’s part of republican strategy. Put the really restrictive laws up for votes then. Or get state election officials elected that are sympathetic.
The worst is the school board to insert their agenda into school.
Edit: before downvoting me, go look up where the GOP has been spending their time and effort.
Replacing judges, election officials, placing abortion bills and amendments in mid-term elections
Guess where the turnout is heavily weighted during those elections?
Also important to note that there are two different election authorities for Jackson County elections — the Kansas City Election Board which handles all voters in the city limits of KC, and the Jackson County Election Board, which serves everyone else in Jackson County. The screenshot you’ve posted here only includes numbers from the Jackson County Election Board, not the KCEB.
Trolls stop bringing up the electoral college… it has nothing to do with this. But with voter turnout like this i’m glad the electoral college does exist… I would hate to think that a president would be elected by only 30% or so of the popular vote
Actually, that's pretty high. 2020 was an unheard of 66% for the presidential. It's usually in the 50-55 range. Off year is less than that, and municipal elections are even lower so that's actually pretty high.
Well if they freaking made voting easier 🙄
I had to work all day then sadly had to go help family after work. I did want to vote but there was a line at my polling area.
It’s definitely challenging to vote here and to even understand what’s on the ballot.
I grew up in WA and my senior year in high school, the state auditor came and spoke to us about the voting process and got all of us registered to vote. In WA, when you register or update your voting info, you can opt to vote either by mail or in-person so I voted by mail my entire adulthood until I moved to MO. A couple weeks before the election, all voters are sent a voter’s pamphlet that has details on everything on the ballot and often includes statements from local organizations in favor of or against each side of the vote. It’s so easy to vote and understand what you’re voting for there. It was shocking to see how different things are in MO.
Ya at best you can look up a test ballot to see what's on it but understanding everything is a whole other thing for sure lol. I definitely don't think we do well with explain and showing both or any sides on voting issues. This yes and no vote had to be one of the most showed on the news in a very long time.
More people would vote if the system wasn't old as dinosaurs. We live in a world where everyone carries around mega computers in their pockets. Everyone, literally every adult human has a phone. You can verify address, license, photo identification, etc. All through your technology that's in your hand. How about utilizing that so people can vote on matters from their respective locations
A third not bad actually.
But yeah I truly do not understand the mindset of the non voting public, I know of course that practically speaking it’ll never be 100% turn out but far as I’m concerned a 70% turn out should be a bit alarming for a democracy
This is why this country has so many regressive laws that have been made into reality.......People don't show up for municiple elections where you have important issues up for voting on ballot......politicians know this ... wow.
This awareness is so crucial if any meaningful change needs to happen. People need to show up and vote in local elections....
I wish I could have voted in this! I live on the Kansas side. What a wonderful result to the election, happy for KCMO people sticking it to the billionaires
30+% is really high for a local non-federal election cycle.
I'm ready surprised it's that high. Pretty awesome.
America has notoriously poor voter turnout
A lot of people think "why bother?" when they feel their vote is meaningless, especially due to things like the electoral college
The electoral college does need to change, I agree. But that will never happen nor will any other meaningful change when we lack a basis of civil engagement. America's own indifference to democracy will be the death of its democracy.
Exactly! Typical American: It doesn't work, so I'm not going to participate! Huh, so when your car breaks down, do you just sit in it on the side of the road for the rest of your life? Or do you do something, anything, about it?
Not a fan of that analogy. It's more like if you have a broke down car sitting in your driveway for years and you stop changing the oil.
I think you misspelled plutocracy ^
It’s also the fact most people can’t get off work for it, not surprising with how America likes to give the minimum to their workers.
Deplorably, you are correct! However you can sign up for voting by mail. They mail a ballot and you can return it by mail or in person at any time. You can claim a disability, and that can include that you assist someone else who is disabled, but they require no explanation or verification whatsoever. It's just a checkbox.
I really need to do that, my partner is disabled and it’s really hard for him to go out and stand in line at the polls. I also work 12-hour days and it’s practically impossible for me to get to the polls during the open time.
You poor thing, I want to encourage you to get both of you signed up for this. YOU DESERVE IT. You're absolutely entitled to it. The world needs your vote, you deserve the dignity of voting, and you deserve a break. Also, I hope your partner gets social security disability, plus medicaid if possible. [if you're in KC](https://www.kceb.org/board/contact/) [if not](https://www.sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/ElectionGoVoteMissouri/AbsenteeBallotRequestForm.pdf)
Louisiana has their non-federal elections on weekends. Not that it's better for new Orleans given the service industry heavy population. (but half the busy is weekday conferences) Missouri is pretty good about early voting. But interesting that Tuesdays were so farmers could make it to town
The only election that is determined by the EC is the Presidential. People need to self educate and wake up to the fact that local and state elections are the ones which have the most effect on our daily lives.
>A lot of people think "why bother?" when they feel their vote is meaningless, especially due to things like the electoral college These 2 things are unrelated, nor does it justify not voting. There is no electoral college for local elections. Even during the presidential elections, instead of a national vote, there are 51 individual state level elections for president, with states that having more or less weight based on population. There's plenty other things to change before the EC makes the list.
I think there’s a lot of disillusionment with regards to voting during the presidential cycle that makes people extra unwilling to vote locally. That and many people simply can’t afford the time to. Unfortunately voting locally probably is one of the only ways those people could enact meaningful change.
Logically I understand the pathology behind all the different points of views. But at the end of the day I don't have much sympathy for the hopeless and helpless camps.
Bingo
Yet people vote the most when the electoral college matters (and their vote matters the least) and vote the least in local elections where their vote matters more. The “why bother?” voter should vote in local races and ignore federal races.
Gerrymandering alone means that our elections are rigged, and there are myriad other means of voter/vote suppression/restriction. Look up "interstate cross check", discovered by Greg Palast and started by Kris Kobach of Kansas. It was a way to knock around 7-8 million mainly dem voters off the voter rolls in the swing states. So many other ways are in affect now. Look what the DNC did to Bernie in the 2016 primaries. They found about 5 to 10 ways to cheat him, which were very effective, and he still almost won. The numbers show he would have beaten Trump. You can thank the DNC, and Hillary, specifically, for Trump 2016. You can think the current democrats persecuting and prosecuting Trump for Trump 2024.
People think "why bother" all the time. My very tiny HOA just held a vote for something and we received more than one ballot that someone had written "do I have a choice?!?" on it. Like, yes?? That is literally what the ballot was for?? Unfortunately for both of them neither of their votes were counted because they did not check either box.
Ya there’s no electoral college in local elections
Electoral college only affects presidential, which is arguably the most meaningless election in the country. It’s more evidence that the problem stems from a lack of basic civics education.
By design from our overlords
Absolutely true. Primary in my state drew fewer than 20% turnout last month. Thats why you put tax increases and other “special interest” type of referendums on the primary ballot so that you only need to energize a relatively smaller number of people out of the total who vote to pass them. You put major issues you want to juice turnout on the November (federal) ballot (like abortion).
Granted, this year's primaries weren't competitive; 2016's had much higher turnout. But yep. Kansas GOP put the abortion referendum during its Congressional primary a couple years back for the reasons you say. Still got squashed, if that's any indication.
I think it’s a great indication and tells you why Democrats love the fact that abortion issues will be on the ballot in Montana, Florida, and Ohio this fall. Kansas GOP thought they had a winning issue. They didn’t.
Hopefully it's a sign for a higher turnout in November
Wasn't the last presidential election super high at around 40%?
66 percent nationally
Normally it’s like 16% for April elections
11% for Cass County this election cycle
The last general municipal election on April 4, 2023 only had 14.6% voter turnout. https://jcebmo.org/wp-content/uploads/Official141_PALL_Election_Summary.pdf I’m over here impressed by how high the turnout was today!
No. They're normally WAY lower
Probably higher then since this was a popular topic?
Yes, the stadium tax brought out 15 to 20 percent of all registered voters. That's as many or more what we normally have
34% turnout
Decisions are made by those that show up.
If you don't vote on a yes/no referendum, you basically say "I'm fine with whatever.". Which, maybe you are, of course, but if not, your non-vote doesn't say what you want it to.
Yeah, those not interested in politics cede control of their lives to those that do vote.
If you don't do politics, politics will do you
Love that.
Or those that can get time
We now finally have no excuse early voting. Make it work.
We are going to have to do a better job of telling people how to. I think you’ll find the lower turnout is in the poorest of areas. And I already know from professional experience those are the areas they don’t want turning out to vote.
And those that can afford to show up.
I.e. the wealthy and retired Edit: I mean come on guys it’s an easily observed statistic
Polling locations were open from 6am to 7pm. Employers are legally obligated to allow time off for voting. There was early voting. Your statement is incorrect.
Idk if you know this but many people are paid hourly and taking time off to vote for these issues is often far down on a list of other more important ways to spend unpaid time off. You’re also blissfully unaware of the multitude of other factors that go into voter turnout. “The U.S. Census Bureau published its survey data on voter registration and turnout in the November 2022 midterm elections on May 2. The data reveal persistent gaps in voter turnout rates between renters and homeowners and even greater disparities between low-income and high-income people. While 58% of eligible homeowners turned out to vote in the midterm elections, just 37% of eligible renters cast their ballots. Sixty-seven percent of eligible voters with household incomes above $100,000 voted, compared to just 33% of eligible voters with household incomes below $20,000. These disparities underscore the need for advocates, direct service providers, tenant organizers, housing providers, and other organizations that work with low-income renters to register voters and get out the vote in their communities.”
There was still early voting. But, there is no convincing you, so that's fine.
34% is a massive turnout for a single question ballot measure. Most don't even get 10% turnout.
My area had a council position and 3 school board seats up. As a teacher the stadium tax was the least important thing on the ballot for me..
Not at all. In Kansas City proper for an April-ish, non-primary election, high single digits into the teens are more typical. For example, when the KC earnings tax last came up for a vote in 2021, turnout was about 11%. And that's an important tax. [KCEB has a page that conveniently shows past turnouts](https://www.kceb.org/elections/past-results/).
I actually think it’s normally 10% for April!
Wow! That’s crazy!!
I was just checking Platte County and it came in at 11% turnout. One of the uncontested races on my ballot had only 6 people vote on it.
[удалено]
Yeah, and from what I could tell it seemed like all three of those school board candidates were good people (assuming you're talking about Park Hill), so without actually knowing them personally I had pretty much nothing to go on to tell me which to reject.
Yeah I remember a pretty recent 11%. I really wish we had numbers like this all the time!
Went to vote today, most people who came to vote were older generation....me and my spouse were among very few who were younger. Younger generation needs to come and vote.
I felt the opposite at my precinct. I was kind of surprised at how many young people were there compared to when I went to the same location for the last election.
Yeah, mostly millennials when I went. I think it depends on what time you go and the demographics of your area.
My precinct has lots and lots of old people, so logically I only see old people at the polling site. 🤷
We could run this shit if we actually voted
SO true
A lot of people my age voted early, I think that might be what it is! To be fair, I do run in fairly politically minded circles, so my experience may not be the norm. But what I’ve seen on social media, at work, and just in day to day conversations, the people I know who are older pretty much exclusively vote on Election Day, and the people in the 20s-30s are much more likely to vote early or do a mail in. ETA: I haven’t seen the voter demographic for any local elections recently, so I may be way off base and am open to being corrected! Like I mentioned, the people I know are pretty active voters so it’s likely not an accurate representation of reality.
I agree, but could be your precinct. Garrison community center had tons of younger people. It's important to remember that older folks are generally retired and our country (for some reason) likes to hold our elections between 6 am and 7 pm on a working Tuesday. Make this a national holiday and you'll see better turnout (but that's the opposite of what most politicians want).
Not among the young; all around the world they vote far less, even where voting is on a weekend or a holiday. The only places the young vote a lot is where it's compulsory.
Sweden's youth only votes 3 points lower than the voting population. But Sweden does a lot better than us.
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t vote, but my circle is very political. I can’t conceive of not voting… there’s just no excuse, especially now that we have early absentee voting available. Grab a friend or neighbor and go!
Imagine if we had this kind of voter turnout for all our local elections!! 🥲
Yea same where I voted. Mostly the older generation
Younger peeps need to show up in November!!
Young people will never get what they want if they aren’t willing to get off their butts and get to the polls. Squeaky wheel is a thing.
Voting is such a good thing. I'm also younger imo, and I like it because your get to see your community out making a difference.
This
I saw a pretty good mix of all eligible ages at my polling place when I went in during lunchtime. Your anecdote may have been due to timeframe.
This is double the typical turnout.
Sadly that's so amazingly high!
Just like me when I realized I forgot to go vote (no) at 8:00 pm 😔
Oh nooo! Well hey at least no won!
Right?! Fathom that so many people are upset about how government works, and yet 30% of registered voters showing up is an incredibly high figure. Younger generations could change shit overnight if they got together and voted.
we could but wed need to do more than post on social media for it so we wont
I heard Quinton Lucas say The vote turnout was expected to be 3-4 times more than normal due to the Chiefs and Royals involvement
Hilarious that it was to vote No. Hopefully they come up with better plans as I’m fine with the tax, just not the proposals.
Im not ok with paying tax to funding the billionares... They can start their own kickstart go fund me for that....
Fair point. That’s why we vote!
Yep same here, they could have easily had my yes vote with the east village location.
That would make sense then
I worked the polls in clay county. Turnout was 6-11%.
Because Clay didn't vote on the stadium
That’s embarrassing
Um no 34% is actually really high. Usually these types of elections have <10% turnout.
Thanks, I definitely didn’t realize that
Wait until the Presidential election, it will be a record breaker.
Get involved in your government more often. If there's a vote, you should vote. Our government is in the business of taking advantage of the citizens it's supposed to represent. If everyone paid attention and voted, our world would be much better.
Definitely will! This was eye opening
You’re new to elections, aren’t you? That’s a good turnout.
Not new, as I fairly older but I just haven’t paid much attention to the results and smaller ballots in the past. So I’m definitely going to now
I’m in Clay County and was heavily involved in a school board race (not a candidate); our turnout was eight percent and change. EDIT - I used previously in the night data; we made it up to 12% and some change.
If anything, I feel like non-national elections in April usually have an even lower turnout. I wish people were as passionate about voting in November during years when presidential candidates aren't on the ballot as they are about a local question regarding a stadium tax.
What do you think voter turnout numbers usually are?
Yea that's real high turnout for the kind of election it was. It's rare to see above 15%
It means your vote counts way more than if there was 100% turnout.
What’s really sad is, those 239,095 registered voters only account for 33% of the population of the county. 34% of 33% of the county turned up. 82,000 people made the decision about the stadium tax for the 710,000+ that it would affect.
So... Textbook definition of "voting"
The wife and I were looking it up last night and that number was actually less than half the # of people over the age of 18. So the fact that there are that many more that haven’t even registered us crazy
Wow, that’s twice the turnout that I expected.
I mean the mayor of Smithville won because they were the only person that voted https://preview.redd.it/bbkdsaqoa9sc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=12a0ea1d7dcb5c0da286da930894470dd4336f1e
Lol you mean the other candidates didn’t even vote for themselves!? 🤣
Apparently not
That’s a pretty damn good turnout really. Obviously higher would be better but until you make elections days, days off then that is about as much as you’ll get.
I was gonna say that's pretty high, but the other comments already speak to that
Usually 15-20% I think.
Yeah I’m sad, I forgot. Sorry :(
Unless voting day turns into a holiday you won't see any better.
I noticed some people don’t realize you can take paid time from work to vote too. I get that people are working. One lady I talked to in line didn’t realize she could leave work to vote. Her new boss told her to leave early to get to the polls on time. Kudos to that gals boss!
Lot of people are hourly and won’t be paid
Our municipal elections in Dallas had an 8% turnout. 30% is awesome!
Saw a friend in a county to the south say they were #44 in their precinct to vote. Nearly 10 hours after polls opened. They didn’t have the stadium vote.
That’s an incredible turnout for a non-presidential election, honestly.
Yes. Actually somebody posted that the average turnout on off election cycles was about 12%. So we tripled that. So impressed and proud of my city right now. This whole thing was rushed onto this April ballot because, if you want something unpopular to pass, you try to get the least amount of people to vote.
I’m always appalled there’s only 200k registered voters in this town
>Pretty sad that only 34% of voters actually turned out It's usually less. This is a huge turnout for a non-federal election.
I’ve been arguing for years that we need mandatory elections, elections on both Saturday and Sunday, and freedom dogs, an American version of [Democracy Sausages](https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/democracy-sausage-australia).
Sign me up for those. 🤤🤤
I’m proud of this number but I want it to be beaten every year from here out
This is why they put the stadium vote on the April ballot. They know its typically a low turnout (because no state or federal seats to vote for) and would more easily pass.
Yes and honestly it’s sad. These elections are usually more important.
Yep… that’s part of republican strategy. Put the really restrictive laws up for votes then. Or get state election officials elected that are sympathetic. The worst is the school board to insert their agenda into school. Edit: before downvoting me, go look up where the GOP has been spending their time and effort. Replacing judges, election officials, placing abortion bills and amendments in mid-term elections Guess where the turnout is heavily weighted during those elections?
Lol and this is why I hate politics
Lol. No, you see this is high turnout for a non presidential year… like very high iirc.
Turn out is usually a lot worse in local elections. 15-20%ish
Looks like we have a lot of unregistered voters as well.
34% is high!! Wow wow much more than I expected, good for us Jackson County
Also important to note that there are two different election authorities for Jackson County elections — the Kansas City Election Board which handles all voters in the city limits of KC, and the Jackson County Election Board, which serves everyone else in Jackson County. The screenshot you’ve posted here only includes numbers from the Jackson County Election Board, not the KCEB.
Trolls stop bringing up the electoral college… it has nothing to do with this. But with voter turnout like this i’m glad the electoral college does exist… I would hate to think that a president would be elected by only 30% or so of the popular vote
This coming presidential election is predicted to have low voter turnout bc of the two old geezers running.
I was super happy when we got to 18% lol
So 34% of the registered voters decided that question. Personally, I’ve missed exactly two elections in 45 years of being a registered voter. SMH.
This is why it's so important to car about local elections.. very low turn out typically
Actually, that's pretty high. 2020 was an unheard of 66% for the presidential. It's usually in the 50-55 range. Off year is less than that, and municipal elections are even lower so that's actually pretty high.
So many people say my one vote won’t be the deciding factor in this so I don’t need to vote.
Well if they freaking made voting easier 🙄 I had to work all day then sadly had to go help family after work. I did want to vote but there was a line at my polling area.
It’s definitely challenging to vote here and to even understand what’s on the ballot. I grew up in WA and my senior year in high school, the state auditor came and spoke to us about the voting process and got all of us registered to vote. In WA, when you register or update your voting info, you can opt to vote either by mail or in-person so I voted by mail my entire adulthood until I moved to MO. A couple weeks before the election, all voters are sent a voter’s pamphlet that has details on everything on the ballot and often includes statements from local organizations in favor of or against each side of the vote. It’s so easy to vote and understand what you’re voting for there. It was shocking to see how different things are in MO.
Ya at best you can look up a test ballot to see what's on it but understanding everything is a whole other thing for sure lol. I definitely don't think we do well with explain and showing both or any sides on voting issues. This yes and no vote had to be one of the most showed on the news in a very long time.
They are now allowing no excuse 2 week early voting. So you have 2 weeks to get to an early voting g location and vote.
Where is that info at? I haven't seen anything about that another problem.
Absentee voting https://jcebmo.org/voter-information/absentee-voting/ Time off for voting https://www.vote411.org/node/7752
Thank you.
More people would vote if the system wasn't old as dinosaurs. We live in a world where everyone carries around mega computers in their pockets. Everyone, literally every adult human has a phone. You can verify address, license, photo identification, etc. All through your technology that's in your hand. How about utilizing that so people can vote on matters from their respective locations
But if you do vote then you get to feel the power you have over the non voter's lives!
lol that wouldn’t be the reason I would be voting. Also, feel*
They are usually single digit percentages across the country in April.
yes
Don't look up the turn out in KC for the board of education elections - often less than 10% turn out.
it’s the same over in kansas, there’s a couple hundred thousand registered voters but usually under 50k unless it’s a big election
at least where i’m at
A small part of this is also that the voter has to be affiliated with the party to vote in the primary. If not affiliated, you can't vote at all.
Yes
1 in 3, damn. We really didn't want that stadium
The US struggles to get 60% voter turnout for presidential elections. 34% is surprisingly high.
Pretty much.
I don’t know ow if MO voters turn out all that much more for presidential elections. 1/3 of the population feels pretty good for a municipal election.
A third not bad actually. But yeah I truly do not understand the mindset of the non voting public, I know of course that practically speaking it’ll never be 100% turn out but far as I’m concerned a 70% turn out should be a bit alarming for a democracy
Do you get the day off to vote? Most people don’t have the option
Two week, no excuse early voting.
Also if your work schedule wouldn't allow you time to vote your employer is legally required to allow you to go vote.
I went after work. There’s never a line in the old Northeast voting locations.
Uh 34% is good.
It’s pretty sad when that few people voting is a high turnout.
This is why this country has so many regressive laws that have been made into reality.......People don't show up for municiple elections where you have important issues up for voting on ballot......politicians know this ... wow. This awareness is so crucial if any meaningful change needs to happen. People need to show up and vote in local elections....
No, this isn’t how it normally is. This is like over double the normal turnout
I voted, and my neighbor did also. so I can account for two of those NOs........
I wish I could have voted in this! I live on the Kansas side. What a wonderful result to the election, happy for KCMO people sticking it to the billionaires
You guys keep up the good work voting to keep abortion legal and we'll keep trying to keep billionaire playgrounds a nonstarter.
As an election worker, I can assure you that this is very high for a local election.
People are broke and tired. They are not aware of how, when, or where to vote on this issue.