Tight races evidence that every vote counts
Thank you to everyone who turned out to exercise their constitutional right to vote, whether you cast your ballot during early voting or on Election Day.
Voting is a right, but it’s also a privilege that too many of us take for granted. Democracy doesn’t function at its best unless citizens participate in the civic process.
We would also like to thank Monongalia County voters for voting in favor of the EMS levy. We’re proud voters recognized the importance of supporting public services, and we look forward to seeing what Mon EMS accomplishes with the additional funds.
Turnout this year was pretty good, especially for a midterm election, which typically has a lower participation rate. Statewide, 42.6% of registered voters showed up at the polls or mailed an absentee ballot. That’s down from the last midterm at almost 48% in 2018, but definitely better than the less than 38% turnout in the 2014 midterms. Of course, nothing quite compares to the 63.25% voter turnout for the 2020 General Election.
Locally, a smidge over 43% of Monongalia County’s registered voters participated this year (down from just under 46% in 2018); almost 48% in Preston County (down from 56% in 2018); and almost 45% in Marion County (also down from nearly 51% in 2018).
So, overall, not a terrible turnout. We’re sure numbers will be better for the 2024 presidential election — they always are — and we hope to see higher turnout at the next midterm in 2026. Everyone feels especially invested in who runs the country, but too many people take for granted that the majority of laws and policies that govern our lives are determined at the state and municipal levels. That means midterms and city elections are just as important as major national elections, if not more so.
If you don’t believe your vote matters, just look at the margins of victory for some of the races. The difference between Barbara Evans Fleischauer and Mike Oliverio is just 162 votes — 0.6% of the total votes cast for that office. The race between Debbie Warner and Katie Fallon came down to 138 votes, or about 2% of the ballots cast for that race. Some offices were decided by even tighter margins: The race for the House of Delegates 27th District came down to a difference of 63 votes; in the 56th District, it’s only 54 votes.
State and local elections are where your vote really matters, which is why it’s so important to show up at the polls — particularly in non-presidential elections.
Thank you again to everyone who voted this year — with an extra special thank you to all the poll workers and election officials — and we hope to see even more of you at the polls next time.
