The Implications and Importance of Off-Year Elections

Graphic by Arola Oluwehinmi

This November, Virginia will hold an off-year election. Although completely framed with respect to the gubernatorial race between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin, the significance of this election as a reflection on the politics of local communities cannot be understated. Excluding the gubernatorial candidates, the November ballot also includes political contenders competing for the State House and certain Municipal governments.[1] The City of Charlottesville specifically has a variety of local positions to be filled, including seats on the city council and the local school board.[2] These races, although catered to regional constituencies around Virginia, should nevertheless be considered in conversation with the larger political progress of the state. The power and authority held at the local level may seem miniscule, but the implications of these small elections are vast and have direct consequences on the daily life of local populations.

THE INSTITUTION OF OFF-YEAR ELECTIONS

Virginia is one of only five states in the United States to organize its statewide elections in years which do not coincide with a presidential or congressional midterm election. Additionally, it is one of only two states (New Jersey being the other) to elect a new governor within the 2021 election cycle.[3] The history behind each state’s electoral calendar differs widely, but Virginia’s tradition has been maintained for more than 150 years. As part of post-Civil War Reconstruction, a new state constitution was ratified, and the associated general election of the first governor occurred in the summer of 1869. Setting precedent for the four-year cycle for Virginia state government, off-year elections have been hosted ever since.[4] 

Although state elections can garner national attention, as is the case with the current gubernatorial election, all off-year states share two common themes: the avoidance of the attention that is generated with federal races and low voter turnout. Separating gubernatorial elections from national elections can keep controversial presidential candidates or controversial national policy issues from influencing state elections. This can be realized as a possible advantage of Virginia politics, which ought to be founded on state candidates and issues. But this reality can also work against local Virginia politics, since the commonwealth’s gubernatorial election is now regularly used in speculative measures of the current presidential administration’s—and by extent, their party’s—performance. 

Low voter participation by less privileged citizens at a disadvantage in terms of political involvement and knowledge is another consequence of the orientation of off-year elections. For example, the turnout for the last gubernatorial election in Virginia won by Terry McAuliffe was 43 percent, compared to 71 percent in the 2012 presidential contest and 72 percent for the 2016 presidential election.[5] When the electors of representative democracies are required to vote too often, it can result in voter apathy and fatigue. In Virginia, citizens tire of voting every year be it at the county, state, or the national level.

Faced with low participation and the focus on specialized issues to the state, an average voter might not acknowledge or understand the importance of voting on a municipal level. Ultimately, the progress and maintenance of communities is dependent upon the local officials that constituents vote into office. The skew towards non-national issues and low voter turnout within off-year elections has only worked to the benefit of incumbent politicians and political machines, two political entities which have been resistant to change in the commonwealth. To combat this stagnation, the importance of off-year elections is realized in their ability to generate innovation in policy and development of local infrastructure. 

ELECTIONS AND POLICY INNOVATION

As a direct consequence of who local citizens vote into office, elected officials have the power and authority to advocate for new policy proposals on prevalent issues. With less bureaucracy to enact policies, local governments—in comparison to the national government—are able to react more quickly to constituent concern over worldly events. State and local governments are also more likely to allow risk in their innovation of policy as opposed to sudden, comprehensive national action that has no guarantee of success. As Justice Louis Brandeis wrote, “A state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory” to try novel social and economic experiments without great threat to the rest of the country.[6] These “laboratories of democracy” provide a unique advantage to test various governmental mechanisms, gather robust data, and implement the best practices that emerge from the experiences of the local governments. 

The significance of local off-year elections in regard to policy innovation is further illustrated in the principal study by University of Michigan Professor Jack L. Walker entitled The Diffusion of Innovations Among the American States. In this study he develops a theory that underlies the importance of state elections as generators of important policy and the influence of state politics on national policy innovations. This approach to policy making, which Walker identifies from his investigation, is founded on the perceptions and attitudes of individual state decision makers. While the process itself is extremely complex and no two policy ideas diffuse in the same way, the likelihood of a state adopting a new program is higher if other states have already embraced the policy. Political decision makers such as elected representatives are cued to take action when they become convinced that their state is relatively deprived or that some need exists to which other states in their “league” have already responded.[7]

Emerging from this study is the picture of a national system of emulation and competition based entirely on the comparisons made by locally elected officials. This system Walker identifies links together centers of research and generation of new ideas, national associations of professional administrators, interest groups, and voluntary associations of all kinds into an increasingly complex network that connects states of various levels of innovation together. 

A fundamental key to the production of new governmental measures is both the innovation completed by a particular state and the adoption of other tested policies, aspects of the legislative process totally reliant on elected officials. This conception only furthers the importance of participating in off-year elections. 

ELECTIONS AND LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Off-year elections also hold power in the competition for various municipal offices, which control the aspects of government that touch the daily lives of citizens. Although power must be granted by the state, local elected officials, such as mayors and city councils, have managerial control over sectors like the police and fire departments, municipal courts, public transportation, housing, and public works (streets, sewers, signage, snow removal, etc.). The health and infrastructure of local communities are therefore dependent on the results of local elections.[8] In addition to the foundational public services provided by the government, local officials are also responsible for how much to cooperate with the federal government on areas such as immigration policy or drug issues. Additionally, DAs have a particularly important impact on communities in their power to address police brutality and misconduct cases.[9] 

Beyond the national and midterm elections, an off-year ballot holds significance in containing elections about city-level issues and statewide concerns. Although the federal government can attempt to address issues within fields such as infrastructure or education reform, much of its actions will lack serious oversight and come in a form of funding with no specific policy prescriptions.[10] For citizens concerned over public services and wishing to express grievances, the reality holds that a federal election may not be the correct outlet to do so. Any solution must involve innovation from local government officials since they often have jurisdiction over the immediate problem, and the potential for an increase of attention on local elections could spur candidates to propose new solutions. 

The magnitude of local elections can also be found in the evolution of municipal governments themselves. Elected officials like city council members have the power to decide whether to push for a change in the orientation and organization of a local government. An immediate example of this reality is that of the Charlottesville City Council. Reacting to the changes constituents have expressed interest in, the city council has entertained ideas of altering the governmental structure of the city. The move to have a directly elected mayor instead of having a ceremonial figurehead elected by the council is one example of how the council may change the local political structure. The implications of this decision include establishing one person as the individual actually responsible for local issues, a person who could speak directly on behalf of the city and assert a policy. Although localities must get permission from the General Assembly to pass ordinances, the decision to advocate for change at the state-level is a decision made by the local elected officials.[11]

CONCLUSION

There is no trade-off between learning about federal elections and local elections, and, as such, people should take the time to become informed about their local elections. As a result of historical low voter turnout and a centering on state issues, many citizens do not recognize the importance of off-year elections. The reality of policy innovation at the state level and the dependency daily life has on local elected officials, however, are just two stark examples of how local political participation matters. Local elections have important consequences and voters should not dismiss them.

REFERENCES

[1] Ballotpedia. (2021). Virginia Elections: Offices on the Ballot. https://ballotpedia.org/Virginia_elections,_2021. 

[2] Woods, C. R. (2021). 2021 Voter Guide. Charlottesville Tomorrow. https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/2021-voter-guide/. 

[3] Braun, P. et. al. (2019, November 4). We Learned Why 5 States Hold Odd-Year Elections, Bucking the Trend. National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/2019/11/04/767959274/why-these-5-states-hold-odd-year-elections-bucking-the-trend. 

[4] Austermuhle, M. (2017, September 13). Why Does Virginia Hold Elections in Off-Off Years? American University Radio. https://wamu.org/story/17/09/13/virginia-hold-elections-off-off-years/. 

[5] Virginia Department of Elections. (2021). Registration/Turnout Reports. https://www.elections.virginia.gov/resultsreports/registrationturnout-statistics/. 

[6] Andrews, E. (2015, May 19). Steven Callander: How to Make States “Laboratories of Democracy.” Stanford Graduate School of Business. https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/steven-callander-how-make-states-laboratories-democracy. 

[7] Walker, J. L. (1969, September). “The Diffusion of Innovations Among the American States.” American Political Science Review, 63, 880-95. https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/C99D4409CA8FFC170E7EDFA8789C9748/S0003055400000149a.pdf/the-diffusion-of-innovations-among-the-american-states.pdf. 

[8] The White House. (2021). Our Government: State and Local Government. www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/state-local-government/. 

[9] Rock the Vote. (2021). Why Local Elections Matter. Campus Election Engagement Project. https://campuselect.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/local_office_description-an_explainer.pdf. 

[10] Gross, M. (2020, November 24). The Importance of Local Elections. Harvard Political Review. https://harvardpolitics.com/the-importance-of-local-elections/. 

[11] Tubbs, S. (2018, February 28). How Might Charlottesville be Governed Differently in the Future? Charlottesville Tomorrow. https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/articles/future-of-charlottesville-governance.