Auburn’s municipal elections on Aug. 28 saw relatively high voter turnout, but voters still have to endure three more weeks of campaigning as five runoff elections will be held Oct. 9.
For the municipal election in August, 43,675 citizens were registered and eligible to vote in the election. For the 2018 municipal election, 8,585 ballots were cast, according to the City of Auburn public affairs office.
For comparison, in the last municipal election in 2014, there were 17,157 registered voters for the races in wards 1,3,5 and 6. These four wards had at least two candidates in the race for City Council.
According to the City of Auburn public affairs office, in this election, 2,074 ballots were cast.
There was a voter turnout of approximately 20 percent for the 2018 election and approximately 12 percent in 2014, an 8 percentage point increase from 2014 to 2018.
Ward 3 City Councilwoman Beth Witten said part of the reason was the increase in the number of competitive races.
“We are at a time where there is a lot of interest in what’s happening in Auburn,” Witten said. “People are fortunately using their vote as their voice because that’s really the best way to let people know what direction the city should go in.”
In the 2014 election, there were 13 candidates in total. Of those 13, five candidates faced no opposition and won their seat automatically. The remaining eight candidates only opposed one other candidate, meaning there were only two candidates for the races in wards 1, 3, 5 and 6, according to the September 2014 edition of Open Line, the monthly newsletter produced by the Auburn City Manager’s office.
The 2018 municipal election saw over 30 candidates and only one race that faced no opposition.
Ward 8 City Councilmember Tommy Dawson said he wants to see even more of a turnout for the upcoming runoff election.
“I think it’s great to see the larger voter turnout, but I’d like to see more,” Dawson said. “I can’t stress enough how important it is for everyone to go vote in the upcoming runoff election. It’s very important to the future of Auburn.”
The overall voter turnout meant a lot to Ward 2 City Councilman and mayoral candidate Ron Anders.
“I think it’s exciting that Auburn citizens are so passionate and care so much about their city that they are willing to vote,” Anders said. “My encouragement is don’t get disinterested because there is a runoff. All of those people need to come back out Oct. 9.”
The mayoral race along with the races for City Council in wards 2, 4, 5 and 6 are a part of the runoff election on Oct. 9.
Those who are not currently registered and would like to vote in the Oct. 9 runoff election may register until Sept. 24. Not all wards will have an election for a City Council representative, but every ward will participate in the mayoral runoff.
“Traditionally, most of the time in runoffs the voter turnout is lighter,” Anders said. “It’s a challenge to our community to stay involved in this election until Oct. 9.”
Both Witten and Dawson want to encourage voters to look carefully at the candidates in the runoff elections. They want voters to make an informed decision.
“Honesty. The candidate that is most honest and has proved to be the best for Auburn,” Dawson said when asked what the most important issue voters should look to when deciding on their vote.
Witten stressed engagement. She said voters should look at how the candidates have engaged in the community in the past.
By looking at a candidate’s past engagement in the community, voters should be able to determine if the candidate is in the race to be productive or disruptive, Witten said.
“I think we don’t need to give a whole lot of credence to passive social media posts that don’t necessarily reflect the whole story of issues,” Witten said. “I think we need to get back to having conversations with our neighbors and with our candidates one-on-one and with each other, as opposed to just relying on messaging that is being facilitated through social media.”
She wants voters to “dig a little deeper” and not take the first thing they hear as fact. Witten said she wants voters to do their due diligence.
Witten said she thinks candidates would be more than happy to talk with constituents and encouraged voters to just call the candidates to truly be informed.
Most of all, Witten wants active participants in the runoff election; she wants informed voters doing what they think is right for the community, she said.
“We cannot allow apathy to be the voice of Auburn,” Witten said. “It has to be our own voice and our own vote that makes a difference. Absolutely everyone in every household that is eligible needs to get out and get to the polls.”
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Elizabeth, senior in journalism and political science, is the community editor for The Plainsman
