Fewer than 75% of registered voters in Miami-Dade County turned out for the county’s mayoral elections on Aug. 20, a disappointing but historically unsurprising number.
Residents either ignored the election taking place or didn’t care enough to vote. This could be because many residents don’t understand how significant local elections are to their pocketbooks or their lives.
If we strive to have a fully engaged community that participates in our democracy, county residents need to prioritize voting in local elections.
The importance of local government can best be demonstrated through Miami-Dade County’s mayoral election. This race featured seven candidates, all with different visions for the future of Miami-Dade County.
Of the 1.5 million registered voters, only 300,000 bothered to cast a ballot. Another 500,000 eligible voters did not even register to vote.
While incumbent Mayor Danielle Levine Cava was reelected, with 58% of the vote, a considerable margin of victory, she only received 163,668 votes. Do the math. That means only about 11% of Miami-Dade’s registered voters cast a ballot for her. If you look at all eligible voters, it’s even worse: Miami-Dade will have a mayor that barely 8% of them chose.
This is not a new trend. Previous primary elections have rarely turned out a quarter of eligible voters, a stark contrast to presidential elections over that same period where more than 70% often turned out. That’s despite the fact that over the last four years, Levine Cava’s policies arguably had more of an impact on her constituents than federal policies.
In her time as mayor, Levine Cava spent more than $900 million completing sewage projects to reduce pollution, following through on her campaign promise to be the “water warrior” and fix the county’s sewage system.
Cava also increased both the county employee workforce and county employees’ salaries in her four years, with the workforce growing by 9.2% and salaries growing by 33%, according to the Miami Herald.
This came with tax increases, which, as the Miami Herald reported, meant “slightly higher bills for the typical homeowner.”
Levine Cava’s main rival and runner-up in the election, Manny Cid, would have taken the county down a much different road.
The two-term mayor of Miami Lakes, who received 23% of the vote, focused his campaign on a 10% reduction in countywide property tax rate. He also hoped to reduce unnecessary government and bureaucratic positions, often criticizing Levine Cava for her government spending.
The Miami Herald reported that his plan could reduce yearly tax revenue by $200 million, leaving the county with less money to spend on improvements like the sewage projects Levine Cava invested in.
This is not endorsing nor opposing either of the candidates policies, but merely showing that they have a direct impact on Miami-Dade County residents.
Cid’s tax cut and reduction in government jobs could lead to a slower-moving and less efficient government, but it would also drop residents’ taxes significantly.
Levine Cava’s desire to fix many issues in the county through government spending can inflate residents’ tax bills, but are also intended to provide needed government assistance for chronic problems in the county like high housing costs and climate change issues.
It was the voters’ job to determine whether Levine Cava or Cid’s proposals would be best for the county, but with only 15% of eligible voters making their opinions heard, the result is less important than the message of the turnout.
A majority of voters who showed up may have shown their support for Levine Cava, but the vast majority either ignored the election or didn’t care enough to vote. A reason for this could be voters’ failure to realize how much the election affects their daily lives.
Miami-Dade County will probably again turn out almost three-fourths of registered voters in November’s presidential election, but, for the next four years, Levine Cava’s policies will possibly have as much of an impact on county residents as any presidential policy.
Until residents understand the impact of local government on their lives and show up to polls, the democratic system isn’t working in the way it should and in the way we need it to.