Every election, there will be a reporter — at Ideastream it's often me — bouncing from polling place to polling place to talk to voters. It's a tough assignment sometimes, not because people don’t want to talk, but because they just aren't there.
In Cleveland’s primary election two months ago, 7% of registered voters showed up to vote. In a primary election where the city was deciding mayoral finalists and determining its council seats for newly redrawn wards, an overwhelming majority of voters decided it wasn’t important enough to show up or even drop a ballot in the mail.
Ok, maybe it’s because that was a primary election. Perhaps people show up for the general. Or, perhaps not.
In 2021, Cleveland had a mayoral election after Mayor Frank Jackson’s retirement, and the city was going to have a new mayor for the first time in 16 years. Less than a quarter of registered voters — not residents, registered voters— cast ballots. Another overwhelming majority of voters decided it wasn’t important enough to show up.
“It is a municipal election year, which are just as important if not more important than the president, but people don't always register with that,” said Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Director Anthony Perlatti this week concerning Tuesday's election.
Surely, though, people show up for a presidential election, the highest-ranking office in the United States.
More do, but, still, less than half the number of registered voters. That's right. In the 2024 presidential election, 47% of registered voters in Cleveland voted. That’s nearly twice the percentage of the 2021 mayoral election and about seven times the percentage of the primary from two months ago.
But still, 47%? That means most of the city still didn’t show up to vote.
I talked to some Clevelanders who voted early in the current election.
“I kind of feel like it's your civic duty to cast the vote,” Jenna Thomas said. “We've had to fight for our right to vote, both as a minority and as a woman. I don't feel like it's something I can take for granted.”
Are there barriers to voting? Yes.
Is much of this city historically disenfranchised? Yes.
Do Clevelanders take pride in the city? Also, yes.
If you care about the city, you must care about the candidates and the issues on every ballot the city sees. They determine the direction your city is headed.
Renowned political scientist Larry Sabato famously said, “Every election is determined by the people who show up.”
There’s an election on Tuesday. Bring your pride with you and show up. You'll help democracy. And you'll make a reporter's job easier.
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