The very low voter turnout for Bettendorf, Pleasant Valley and Eastern Iowa Community College school board elections Tuesday (Sept. 9) should be of concern to school administrators, sitting school board members and residents.
In one Pleasant Valley district with 1,590 voters, only four votes were cast for the sole candidate. No school board district election drew more than 1 percent of the voters to cast ballots.
In Bettendorf, the two candidates up for re-election received a total of 94 and 90 votes, respectively, or one half of 1 percent of the 17,682 voters in the district. The top vote-getter in the Eastern Iowa Community College district elections garnered 226 votes out of a potential 24,939 voters.
Even in contested elections in previous years, voter turnout for school elections rarely reaches 10 percent.
The September election date set by the state removes school board races from the partisan nature of November general elections, but the date carries a much lower public awareness level in any given year.
Making school board elections at the same time as the general election would encourage more residents to cast a ballot for school board candidates and on school issues. Weighing in on school board candidates and issues at the same time as we elect county, city, state and national candidates would improve turnout and shouldn't overtax anyone's faculties.
The big reason for low turnout in the most recent election is the lack of competition for the school board seats. Does it really matter to vote? There really isn't a choice to be made by residents, the argument goes.
But casting a vote does matter. Given the extremely low turnout even small write-in campaigns can be successful. And, what legitimacy can a candidate claim if "elected" by less than 1 percent of total voters. Do four votes out of 1,600 make for a democratic vote for public office? Can 94 votes be equated to a majority among a community of 17,000 voters? Can a vote by 226 of 25,000 people really provide the needed legitimacy even for the winner?
Such "no show" elections show a disconnect between our democratic ideals and our education system so important to teaching those democratic principles.
