Villages that move their elections to November saw increased voter turnout. The Village of Elbridge saw a 4.5x increase in voters and the Village of Tully saw over 8x the turnout when they moved their village elections to November compared to the previous March election.
The proposition to move the Village of Fayetteville election to November was initiated by the residents of the village. More residents signed the petition than voted in the March 2023 village election. If elected officials truly believed that the village government is of, for and by the people they would be celebrating resident activism to strengthen their democracy by expanding opportunities for residents to vote. Having the election in November gives residents 10 days to vote while saving money on their taxes.
Since 2016 I have been working to increase voter turnout by providing information residents need to make informed decisions. Have you tried to find information on local elections? I have and it is not easy. Most of the time I am lucky if I can find more than the name of who is running in village elections.
Let’s be honest. There is no such thing as a nonpartisan election. Village politicians hide their party affiliations behind made up party lines. This doesn’t change the fact that they are registered and often a member of their local political party. Wouldn’t it be better if you knew who you were actually voting for?
On March 19th please vote Yes on moving village elections to November. Also vote for Sara Bollinger for Mayor & Casey Cleary for Village Trustee. Sara and Casey are listening to village residents and working to increase engagement in local government.
Letter to the Editor published in Eagle Bulletin February 28, 2024 & on Syracuse.com on March 13, 2024
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