Granville is considering moving its municipal elections in line with primary elections, following in the footsteps of Westover and Star City. We fully support the move — after all, the results from this past primary speak for themselves.
With Star City’s local elections on the ballot in May, the town saw voter turnout triple compared to its past two standalone elections (jumping from a little over 100 to over 300). The change for Westover was even more drastic: 127 voters participated in 2022; almost 800 people cast ballots for municipal offices this past May. For both municipalities, that equated to roughly 28% of registered voters.
The numbers themselves may seem small, but their proportional impact is huge. If Granville sees similar results, its participation is likely to increase from 67 (voters in the 2023 standalone election) to roughly 180. It may not seem like much, but that would be a vast improvement.
Granville Town Council will be holding a public hearing and vote on Tuesday. That vote will be to decide whether to hold a special election this November that would decide if Granville’s municipal elections will coincide with the county primaries beginning in 2026.
Hopefully, Granville voters see the benefit in bringing their local elections in line with the primary election and pass the measure. Who knows — maybe if Granville makes the change, Morgantown will finally do the same.
