In the November 2023 municipal election, “we the people” made our decisions about who would represent us. We voted for commissioners and row officers, township and borough officials, judicial officers at the state and county levels and school directors.
Take a look at this table. The percentage of registered voters in Bucks County who voted in the 2023 municipal election, 42.6%, is the highest percentage in the past 11 municipal election cycles.
In the last 20 years, the percentage of registered voters in Bucks County who voted in the municipal elections has increased — from 26.8% to 42.6%. While this is encouraging, it could be argued that there should have been a larger increase from November 2021 (40.7%) to November 2023 (42.6%), because of the critically important battle over the school board directors.
Despite the extensive media coverage, fewer than half of the registered voters took a position on the critical issues facing our public schools. The increase from the previous municipal election was less than 2%. In contrast, the increase from each of the previous four elections was greater than 2%.
The serious school board issues were limited to two school districts, namely, Central Bucks and Pennridge, which comprise less than a third of the county. Nonetheless, given that the previous four municipal elections showed a larger increase (ranging from 3.0% to 6.8%), how do we account for an additional increase in voters of only 2%? What could be more important than the education of our children?
When you further consider that approximately 10% of Bucks County residents are not registered to vote, this reduces the proportion of citizens who had a say in the future of our schools even further.
Given that a primary goal of the League of Women Voters is to encourage all citizens to vote, the fact that fewer than half of the registered voters voted is puzzling. Why would citizens disenfranchise themselves when the stakes are so high?
If you have any suggestions about how the League could (a) encourage more registered voters to vote in future elections, and (b) encourage citizens not registered to vote to do so, we would like to hear from you.
Simply send an e mail to LWVBucksPA@gmail.com. In the subject line, enter “How to get more people to vote.” In the body of the email, give us your perspective.
In a future Herald article, we will share your ideas with the readers. Take action.
Voting Matters. Elections have consequences. Democracy is not a spectator sport.
Cathy Morano is a member of the LWV of Bucks County, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to providing voter education and services and advocating for issues. It envisions a democracy where every person has the desire, the right, the knowledge and the confidence to participate.
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