Election assessment

Tuesday’s election was disappointing.
Not in the outcome necessarily. In the turnout.
In recent weeks, we’ve reminded voters that government most affects their daily lives at the local level.
Yet, on a clear, sunny fall day, only 40 percent of the county’s electorate voted.
There are 20,738 active registered voters in the county and 21,835 total voters. Less than half staked their claim to their own well-being. And that’s disappointing.
From our 17th District State Senate race–where challenger Bryce Reeves led by an 86-vote margin late Tuesday night among more than 45,000 votes cast–we can see the value of a vote. When we say “every vote counts,” it may sound like cliche, but it’s true.
Curiously, that was the closest race on our ballots. While Reeves comfortably took Orange County, his overall margin was far closer than any of our three contested supervisor races or the race for sheriff and commonwealth’s attorney.
Still, where was our other half? Why didn’t they speak up? Who did they support? What was their vision for our community? Was their silence tacit approval of those already in office or were they simply not engaged or aware? Were they uninterested, disinterested, disillusioned or disgusted? Do they think we’re going in the right direction or the wrong one? Are they a silent majority or just silent?
Sadly, we’ll never know.
Two years ago, during our last supervisor/school board election, 45 percent of county voters participated.
Four years ago, only 42.6 percent of us participated.
Two years before that, 46.9 percent of us voted for our supervisors.
We could keep going, but the numbers are depressingly similar.
Fortunately, 74 percent of us participated in our last presidential election, but that turnout simply doesn’t exist when local offices and issues are at stake.
It’ll take some time to gauge the implications of Tuesday’s outcome.
Two incumbent supervisors–Lee Frame and Teel Goodwin comfortably held their seats, while economic development chair Jim White defeated incumbent Zack Burkett.
Economic growth and job creation were key issues discussed during the campaign, so it’ll be interesting to see if our new board can get any traction on that in a still-lagging economy.
Regardless of each of the five supervisors’ individual priorities and promises, all five board members must work collectively to chart the county’s course. Because in two years, we’ll do this all over again.
Voting for president is fun and it matters. Voting for supervisor and school board matters too. More than most folks realize. Well, at least more than about half our folks realize.
We encourage those who voted and those who didn’t to exercise their individual and collective voices to guarantee our community progresses in the direction we want. More than half of you were silent Tuesday. Don’t let that silence linger.