Hats off to the smaller cities and towns of Central Utah – they really got out the vote Tuesday!
While some of the major cities were allowing a minority of the voters to make the decisions at the polls, many of the little towns really showed the election spirit and appreciation for the right to vote.
For example:
– In the new incorporated town of Salem Hills, 62 of 68 registered voters showed up at the polls.
– Highland, another newly established municipality, has about 400 registered voters and 338 of them cast ballots for an 84 1/2 per cent turnout.
– Of the 155 eligible voters in Mona, 146 marked ballots for a 94 per cent record.
– Juab’s biggest city, Nephi, set a fine example also as 69 percent of the voters went to the polls.
– Eureka, also in Juab County, had all except 4 of its 264 eligible citizens cast ballots.
– About 84 percent voted in Levan.
– The citizens of Midway in Wasatch County recorded an 80 percent turnout.
– Out of 1001 eligible voters in Lindon, 597 took time to vote for 59 per cent.
– Payson had a 52 percent vote as 1711 out of 3,300 voters responded.
Contrast such turnouts as these with Provo’s 31 percent ; Orem’s 35.7 percent, and Springville’s 42 percent.
Why is it that citizens in the bigger cities tend to be more apathetic on election day than those in the smaller ones? It’s a question to ponder.
Whatever the reason, we feel voters who stay away from the polls during municipal elections are passing up an opportunity as well as a duty because their lives are touched in so many ways by the local officers elected.
Zoning laws, public safety (including fire and police departments), streets, tax rates, local ordinances, water development, sewers and disposal plants – these are some of the responsibilities local elective officers are charged with managing.
Theres still merit to the old slogan that if you can’t find time to vote on election day, then don’t complain about the people elected.
A lot of candidates worked hard to get their messages to the people during the municipal election campaign. Congratulations are due the winners…and a special vote of thanks to all who were interested enough to offer their services, whether they won or lost.
Newly-elected officials, some of them entering politics for the first time should now redouble efforts to familiarize themselves with the day-to-day problems their communities face – and to repledge themselves to keep campaign promises that are in the public interest.