Voter Numbers Up from Last City Election, but Still Under National Average

After the polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday,, comparatively speaking.

This year, 1,813 people voted in the Takoma Park City election, according to Election Judge Anne Sergeant. That’s 18 percent of the registered 10,326 Takoma Park voters. 

In 2007, 10 percent of the then-9,821 voters came out, and in 2009, 16 percent did.

The steadily rising voter participation may be due to more contested races in recent years, Sergeant said. This year there were three contested races among the mayoral and six council seats, one of which — Ward 3 — had three candidates. In 2009, there were two contested races. In 2007, there was only one.

“There’s nothing to get people to vote like a contested race,” Sergeant said.

But the numbers from last night, improved as they are, don’t hold up to the national average. In the 2010 general election, in which citizens voted for members of Congress, 41 percent of voters came out nationwide. In Maryland, 47 percent did.

According to Frances Lee, a professor of American Politics at the University of Maryland, it’s not surprising that Takoma Park’s numbers were so low compared to those of a larger election.

“It’s just local questions,” she said. “There was a relative lack of high profile or highly controlled matters that might motivate more to turn out.”

She added that this year’s 18 percent was about what she’d expect for a local jurisdiction in an off year.

Some residents, though, didn’t feel the same way.

“I’m shocked that the numbers are that low,” said Rob Carter, a Ward 3 resident who added that he had already seen a few friends and neighbors at the Takoma Park Community Center, where voting was taking place.

The numbers didn’t impress Shereen Arent, another Ward 3 resident, either.

“It is sad that, when there’s only local races, almost no one shows up,” she said.

So why is it that a city as politically active as Takoma Park doesn’t bring more voters to the polls? 

Takoma Park resident Joe Edgell said he believes Takoma Park isn’t as politically active as it seems.

“People who participate participate loudly,” he said, “but that doesn’t necessarily mean the average population cares.”