I LOVE VOTING! ONLY 23% CLEVELANDERS VOTED. DID YOU VOTE?

Submitted by Satinder P S Puri on Wed, 11/08/2017 - 18:25.

 

 

 I LOVE VOTING! ONLY 23% CLEVELANDERS VOTED. DID YOU VOTE?

I love voting – and needless to say also love our Brown, Indians, and our Cavs – even though I am not a rabid sports fan and don’t attend any of the games.

On November 7, 2017 – I voted in Cleveland, Ohio. I have been voting regularly since I became a citizen nearly 50 years ago.

According to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections:
*As of October 2017 – Cleveland had 262, 047 eligible voters.
Votes cast for Zack Reed = 24,116.
Votes cast for Frank G. Jackson (incumbent) = 35, 506
Total votes cast for Mayor of Cleveland = 59,622 – which is 22.8 say 23% of total eligible voters.

*Again, as of October 2017 – Ward 16 (where I live) in Cleveland had 14,146 eligible voters.
Votes cast for Ellen Cleary = 1,028
Votes cast for Brian Kazy (incumbent) = 2,272
Total votes cast for Councilman for Ward 16 = 3,300 – which is 23.33 say 23% of total eligible voters.

*So 23% of Clevelanders voted – while 67% -- that is 202,425 of us did not vote for one reason or another for Mayor.

*In the 2013 Mayoral Election --- Ken Lanci the millionaire who challenged Mr. Jackson and lost (in an election with a 21% turnout) complained that a number of Clevelanders that year had no idea that there was a mayoral election that year – let alone know who the candidates were.

Article in Scene Magazine:

I enjoyed reading this article:

“In Frank Jackson Era, Voter Turnout for Mayoral Elections Has Plummeted”

Posted By Sam Allard on Tue, Nov 7, 2017 at 1:58 pm

“Among other equally dubious achievements, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson has presided over an era of abysmal voter turnout in municipal elections. In each of his successive mayoral races, fewer total voters came out to the polls, (20,000 fewer voters each time, in fact, a startling statistic). Jackson's famous dearth of charisma, and a subservient city council, likely have much to do with precipitating this unprecedented voter apathy.

When he was first elected in 2005, beating out incumbent Jane Campbell, 99,000 people cast their votes. (This was a steep decline from 2001, when 110,000 voters participated in electing Campbell over Raymond Pierce). But in 2009, when Jackson defeated Bill Patmon, only 79,000 people voted for Mayor. In 2013, when Jackson defeated Ken Lanci, only 59,000 people voted. That's less than 25 percent turnout for a mayoral election in a major American city, a disgrace.

Voters can buck this ugly trend today. Remember: It's not your fault that you've been discouraged and disenfranchised.

As of 1:13 p.m., according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, 33,795 Clevelanders had voted in the election, which includes the mayoral contest between Jackson and City Councilman Zack Reed. Cleveland is home to 262,052 eligible voters, which puts the current turnout just under 13 percent. ”

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I did vote!

And happy for some change in the representation at the local level = but convinced we need term limits to unload the dead weight at City Hall.  Support term limits and sign the petition.  More information soon.