The Ten Percentile

The Plymouth town election is approaching quickly. It’s Saturday, May 14.

 For 90 percent of you, this means nothing.

 For the other 10 percent, you will be deciding contested races for Selectmen, School Committee members, Planning Board members, a Housing Committee member, and a Redevelopment Committee member. You will also be voting in three Town Meeting members in your precinct, and you will be voting on a proposed change to our Town Charter.

 When I first got involved in town politics, I did not realize how few people actually vote in the town election. At my restaurant and in my circle of friends, it seems everyone has an opinion, so it seemed natural that everyone was voting so they could affect the result they wanted. Not so.

 What surprised me more was the realization that many candidates used this to their advantage. The fact that you don’t vote is used as a tool, and even though you may sit home and do yard work, have a barbecue, take a trip to Home Depot, or spend the day catching up on past seasons of Dexter rather than take a trip to your local polling station, you are still affecting the result.

 My first run for a seat on Town Meeting was an experience. I visited every house in my precinct to personally ask for votes, spoke with scores of residents who had strong opinions, and then I stood at the polls watching tumble weeds blow by as almost none of the residents I spoke with came by to vote.

 Soon after, experienced officials offered me advice.  Some said I needed to get a registered voters list, and target only those voters. No sense visiting a house with no voters. I naively assumed everyone was registered to vote, but the rolls suggest differently.

 More people I spoke with said that was too broad. Only 10 percent of the voters actually vote in a town election, so they suggested I get hold of a list of only the voters who voted in the last town election.  Why bother contacting voters who don’t vote?

 In my second run, everyone kept asking what my placement on the ballot was. Why did it matter? I assumed everyone voting had researched who the candidates were, and would vote for the proper candidate, regardless of voter placement. Not so. It seems most voters are going to vote for a particular candidate in a particular office, such as a Selectman, they like, or a School Committee member they feel will do a good job, but have no idea who the other candidates in the other offices are.  So, according to Town Clerk Laurence Pizer, there have been studies done that show the first name in a list on a ballot will have an advantage.

 I was also told signs play an important role. Voters may not know the candidates, but seeing their name in print has an advantage. So I stocked my precinct with sign holders all day, put signs all over my precinct, and stood out by the highway ramp. No literature, no interviews, no Q&A sessions, no debates, no door-to-door home visits. Just my name plastered on a sign held out before the voters.

 I like to think when I won the second election, it was for my character, where I stood on the issues, my devotion to my committee seats, and my hard work in community service.

 In reality, focusing on the handful of people who actually vote, printing my name on signs, and having the top spot on the ballot in the lottery is what garnered my victory.

 For a town-wide election, the same strategy is often used, but with one added measure. With such a small voter turnout, election results are usually very close. For someone running for Selectman, for instance, all he has to do is focus strongly on getting more voters in a particular precinct to come to the polls, and that will be enough to tip the entire election in his favor. A Selectman will usually win or lose by a hundred votes or so, so all he has to do is concentrate on getting a hundred new voters in a precinct to come out and vote, and he’s got the election in the bag. And he knows who usually doesn't vote, so he knows who to target.

 I suggest if you are one who doesn’t bother to vote in the town election, that you do so. It’s always on a Saturday, so you don’t have to leave work.  The polls are open for 12 hours.  It only takes 5 minutes. And you can get back to that DVD collection of Hogan’s Heroes in no time.

 Get to know the candidates. Watch the Selectmen’s meetings on PACTV. If you can’t find a convenient airing, watch them on-demand on the PACTV website. See what the incumbents are saying and doing. Go on the town website, and read the Selectmen’s meeting minutes. Look at the attendance, and see who is actually attending the meetings.  See how they are voting. Watch the candidate forums. See where they stand on issues. Read the forums in the newspaper. Attend the meet and greets. The candidates are putting themselves out there to let you know where they stand and what they offer, but since it’s a small town election, you have to do a little work to get the info, and not wait for Fox News or CNN to give you their take.

 If all else fails, approach your involved neighbor. You know the one. He usually has several lawn signs proudly displayed on his lawn each cycle. He writes letters to the paper. He’s out on election day holding a sign. Though he may be supporting a particular candidate, he can give you the low down on all the candidates for all the seats. Sift through what he has to say, and form your own opinion.

 I’ve heard hundreds of people tell me Plymouth needs a mayor. And I have to snicker to myself, because I know if 90 percent of the people that tell me that actually had gone to the polls and voted to have a mayor, we would have one. But we don’t. Because everyone has an opinion, but only one in 10 of those opinions makes it to the ballot box.