Worcester’s city government experienced a huge shakeup in Tuesday’s local election when three incumbent city councilors lost their seats. With several other current councilors not seeking reelection, half a dozen new candidates secured spots on the council.
But there was another notable development from the election: Voter turnout reached its highest level in 16 years.
Usually, fewer than 20% of registered voters cast ballots in Worcester’s odd-year local elections. But by the time polls closed Tuesday night, 22.4% had submitted their vote. The increase came after community organizations spent the last several months canvassing over 10,000 people, reminding them about the election and how they can make a difference.
“The more that people feel their vote matters, then they vote,” said Ann Lisi, vice president of the League of Women Voters in Worcester. “Communities need citizens to step up and residents to do their part and to hold elected [officials] accountable.”
Political scientists say people usually don’t vote because they’re disillusioned with politics. Other people working multiple jobs may not have time to catch up on candidates and go to a polling place. In Worcester, many residents are foreign-born, so language barriers may also make it difficult to vote.
Experts say the consequences can be significant. For example, when only a small percentage of residents fill out a ballot, they have disproportionate influence over who wins. Elected officials therefore may not reflect the values and opinions of the many people who don’t vote.
Lisi and Roberto Diaz, executive director of the nonprofit Worcester Interfaith, believe frustration with the federal government may have pushed more people to vote this year. They added that candidates and organizations seemed to have spent more resources on voter outreach. Diaz noted that this local election was the first one he’s ever received automated text messages from a campaign.
“I got three of them in one day,” he said. “If there’s funding, then you have more mailings, you have more phone calls, more text messages.”
Diaz added that his nonprofit connected with over 5,000 people while canvassing underprivileged neighborhoods over the last several months. He said his team had never previously spoken with that many people before a local election.
Still, despite the increase in turnout, Diaz and Lisi said 22% is nowhere good enough, especially considering that more than 30% of registered voters often cast ballots in local elections in Cambridge and Somerville.
