Our ask is simple – just vote

This Tuesday, Worcester voters will decide who should represent them on the City Council and School Committee. This election will have massive implications, as the city contemplates how it will move beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic has not only made clear the public health inequities that plague the city, but the racial, educational, economic and housing inequities that persist too. The city has at least some means to address these, as its annual budget reaches upwards of $700 million.

So, on Nov. 2, voters must ask themselves: how do they want Worcester to exist in a post-COVID world?

Yet, it does not feel like this much – or much at all – is at stake. In September’s preliminary municipal election, only 10.38% of Worcester voters turned out. This was, unfortunately, no surprise. Between 2013 and 2019, voter turnout in Worcester November municipal elections – where turnout is usually higher than September preliminaries – never surpassed 22%. Only in 2015 did it surpass 20%.

Worcester is far from alone here. All communities across Massachusetts suffer from abysmal local election turnout. The paradox is just as frustrating as it is stunning: the elections that have the greatest impact on our day-to-day lives routinely receive the least attention.

Understanding why this is also helps us understand how we may confront this problem. According to the Manhattan Institute, a public policy think tank, a dramatically changing media environment has forced most Americans to reconsider what is most important to them. Since 1990, the number of Americans that consume local news via print or television has decreased dramatically.

Meanwhile, online news outlets and cable networks have risen in prominence. As a result, people pay more attention to national politics than they do local politics. So while a majority of the electorate turns out for presidential elections, a sliver turns out for local ones.

How can we fix this? Broad, systemic reform is needed at both the municipal and state level to seriously challenge this reality. But achieving that change will take years. So, right now, our ask is simple – just vote.

Your vote is of immense importance in local elections because that is where it has the most power. When policy reform happens at the local level, you see and feel it almost instantly. Three policy areas exemplify this.

The first is police reform. In light of the May 2020 murder of George Floyd, tens of millions of Americans called on police departments to change. But what that change looks like has mostly been decided at the local level.

Should the city hire less police officers? Should it bolster nonviolent interventionist resources? Should it reduce the police department’s overall budget? As these questions were being asked across America, they were being answered in city halls.

Voting for offices like City Council remains one of the most effective ways you can have your voice heard in the police reform debate.

The second policy area is education. The School Committee decides the city’s superintendent and public-school budget. It also establishes educational goals and policies for the district. Upon the superintendent’s recommendation, it establishes and appoints additional positions like special education administrators, school physicians, and legal counsel.

In a city with tens of thousands of public-school students, the importance of the School Committee cannot be overstated. These officials play a massive role in deciding what, how, and when students learn. They lay the foundation for what sort of future the children of Worcester may live.

The third area is housing. The Worcester Housing Authority manages the city’s public housing, playing a critical role in managing properties that serve as reliable, secure places for families to call home.

To be effective, the housing authority must prioritize quality, respect, and accountability within the approximately 3,000 apartments it manages. Worcester voters play a crucial role in this process. The Worcester city manager appoints and the council confirms four of the WHA’s five commissioners (the fifth is appointed by the governor).

If voters wish to reform affordable housing, or address specific issues they have, then their vote for City Council will directly impact what affordable housing looks like in Worcester.

It may not seem like there are many reasons to vote in local elections. But there are. Issues like police reform, education and housing are just a handful of them. So if you are wondering what you can do to make your community just a little bit better, the answer is clear: just vote.

Alex Psilakis is the policy and communications manager at MassVOTE, a statewide non-partisan non-profit issue advocacy organization dedicated to voting rights and voter education.