Patrick Fergus
@Fergus5Fergus
The significance of local elections are often overshadowed every four years when it comes time to elect the next president. Congressional, state and town elections hardly get the proper attention from established media groups and even voters themselves.
This is in some measures due to the unceasing coverage of the two major party presidential candidates, and the sectarian nature of their supporters.
“Politics have become like a sport, you almost follow it as a diehard fan,” said Associate Professor of History Ian Delahanty. “In a space where you have issues and policies that affect people, it’s unhealthy to be fanatical.”
Delhanty teaches broadly in American history with a particular area of research and scholarship in the civil war, and says this election and political landscape is another true inflection point for the nation.
“It’s hard for me, someone who’s 40 years old now, to think back on a more divided and contested age of partisanship in the country,” Delahanty said.
Delahanty also argues that modern news consumption, especially the rise of social media, has regulated local issues and ballot initiatives to the sidelines. It’s no wonder college-age students typically know much less about their district leaders and state amendments.
This election cycle, Massachusetts has five questions that voters are tasked with deciding. Every question was denied by the State Senate and House of Representatives, and their final fate will be determined by MA voters.
The questions range from the possible elimination of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) as a high school graduation requirement to the increase of the minimum wage of $15 for tipped workers. Others include whether or not the state auditor has authority to audit the legislature, allowing transportation and network drivers to unionize and the legalization of the growth of psychedelic substances.
Each issue is complex, especially for those who’ve hardly been exposed to them.
Junior Michael Hyder, who is from Connecticut, said he is going home to vote on election day, but hasn’t heard anything about ballot questions.
“I’m not aware of any ballot questions,” Hyder said. “[I can’t] think of anyone who has talked about them.”
He is not alone, as The Student talked with over 15 different students on campus, and none of them were informed of any of the ballot questions from their prospective states, and some were surprised to learn that there would be any at all.
Hyder is more informed on his local politics than most, and pointed out the enlarged coverage of the federal races.
“My town is pretty small, so I have a good idea on what the candidates are campaigning on,” said Hyder. “I think people might be more consumed by what’s going on at the national level rather than the local right now.”
A handful of students said they had looked into the questions, but found the subject material confusing and long-winded.
Delahanty agrees, but emphasized the importance of ballot initiatives like these.
“If you had no prior knowledge of these questions, they are really hard to parce…dense paragraphs of writing,” said Delahanty. “These tend to be where those ‘meat and potato’ issues are raised…. and they have just as much, if not more, [impact] on your day-to-day life than who is elected president.”
The local presence on the ballot also includes every state representative and senate candidate, as well as candidates for Clerk of Courts, Register of Deeds, County Commissioner and Governor’s Council.
The majority of students had already voted via an absentee ballot of early voting, or planned to vote on election day. The import of not just the national elections, but also the potential impact it can have on the regional frame, are crucial.
Photo Courtesy of the Secretary of the Commonwealth