Local Elections Matter | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Julie Tisdale, who is city and county policy analyst for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

    Voters in Jackson County went to the polls this week and voted pretty decisively - with 64 percent saying yes - to a local-option sales tax referendum.

    But that was 64 percent of those who voted. Tuesday was, of course, a weird second round of primaries due to the dispute over congressional district lines and the method of electing Supreme Court justices.

    There were very few races on the ballot. Most weren't big, exciting races that got a lot of media attention. As expected, turnout was low. In Jackson County, just 11 percent of voters turned out, which means that just 7 percent of registered voters cast ballots for the sales tax increase. (The actual tally was 1,795 for the tax hike and 1,030 against it.) One hundred percent of voters will pay for it.

    I'm forced to ask whether the county chose to hold the election this week precisely because officials knew turnout would be low. Statewide it was under 8 percent.

    I took a look back at local-option sales tax referendums since 2007. Most have been on the same ballot as a November general election. Smaller numbers have been on spring primary ballots. A very small number have been on these sorts of special election ballots.

    But those in the latter category have been far more successful than those on general election and primary ballots. I suspect that's because, in an election like this week's, the people most likely to get out and vote are members of that small group whose particular pet issue is on the ballot.



    Don't get me wrong. I'm not arguing the result is illegitimate. All eligible voters could have voted. They chose not to and thereby deferred to the few who went to the polls. That may be unfortunate, but it's absolutely legitimate.

    There were several other local issues on ballots. In similar fashion, all passed with very low turnout.

• Cherokee County also had a quarter-cent sales tax referendum. It passed with 65 percent of the vote, but with a turnout of only 7 percent (1,088 for, 575 against).
• The City of Lincolnton voted to lift restrictions on the sale of beer by small pubs and bars that don't sell a minimum amount of food. It passed with 80 percent of the vote and turnout of 5 percent (486 for, 120 against).

    And alcohol was also on the ballot all over Randolph County, where turnout was about 6 percent.

• Ramseur voted to allow an ABC store (71 for, 50 against).
• Seagrove voted to allow sales of unfortified wine (67 for, 40 against) and beer (65 for, 39 against).
• Franklinville voted to allow sales of mixed beverages (43 for, 36 against), unfortified wine (47 for, 33 against), and beer (42 for, 36 against).

    Numbers like these always serve to remind me of the importance of local elections. Millions of people vote in presidential elections, making it pretty unlikely that my one vote is going to make much difference either way.

    But these local elections were tight, some coming down to just six or seven votes. Yet they impact thousands of people - anyone who wants to get a drink at a bar, entrepreneurs who want to start small businesses, and the people who pay sales tax day in and day out.

    The impact is direct and significant. Local elections matter.