First of all, what IS an off-year election? The term refers to “a general election held in an odd-numbered year when neither presidential or midterm election takes place”. Elections for President, Senate and House of Representatives are always held in even-numbered years.
Although most people don’t realize it, off-year elections have a more direct impact on our communities and daily life. These are the elections for judges, mayors, school boards, local councils and boards and other local public offices. The key word here is local – where budgets, taxes, ordinances and laws are passed that affect you and your family.
In Collegeville this year, we’ll be voting to re-elect our experienced incumbents: for Mayor, Aidsand Wright-Riggens and Borough Council members Cathy Kernen, Damien Brewster, Marion McKinney and Gary Hoffman. In addition, 5 democratic PA Judges are up for retention: 3 Supreme Court Justices, David Wecht, Christine Donohue and Kevin Dougherty; 1 Superior Court Judge, Alice Beck DuBow; and 1 Commonwealth Court Judge, Michael Wojick. There will also be Perkiomen Valley School Board seats on the ballot.
How did off-year elections come about? There was a great deal of corruption at the federal and state levels in the late 1800s into the early 1900s. Local governments wanted to distance themselves from those elections. However, there was also, sometimes, an underlying goal to discourage and limit voter turnout from some of the population. That low turnout benefited well organized special interest groups who could stack the ballot with their preferred candidates.
Off-year elections often have much lower turnout compared to Presidential election years which have the highest turnout. There is also far less media attention paid to local elections and local politics since we have few local newspapers and even fewer local journalists. Today more and more people live in local news deserts.
Collegeville Democrats are dedicated to our community and want to ensure you know the benefits that they bring to our town. Please be sure to VOTE in this year’s primary and general elections to keep the momentum going and encourage friends and family to register and vote as well. Let’s have the highest turnout in the County!