If You’re Not Voting Today, Why Not?
In many ways, Tuesday’s contests are probably more likely to affect your life than the November election.
In case you hadn’t heard, polls are open across Michigan today for some incredibly important races; congressional primaries, local millage increases, judicial races, and more.
But let’s face it, today’s elections aren’t as exciting as the presidential election in November.
You’ll never hear the voices of your local district court judge and her main challenger all over the 24-hour cable news cycle. And a post about the local millage that would raise your property taxes to improve your kids’ schools isn’t going to earn you hundreds of “likes” or angry faces on Facebook.
But are these elections as important? Some would argue they’re more important, because they’re more likely to directly affect your life. Still, turnout is expected to be dismal — 30 percent is probably optimistic. Why is this?
Susan Demas, publisher of Inside Michigan Politics, joins Detroit Today to give her take on this trend.
“What you have here in Detroit is, essentially, if you don’t show up to vote today, you really don’t have much of a choice in the vast majority of races come November,” says Demas, “because they’re all determined in the Democratic primary.”
“I would argue that August is one of the worst times in Michigan to hold a primary,” she says. “The weather is beautiful. People are concentrating on getting their kids ready for school.”
To hear the full conversation, click on the audio player above.
