Making your vote count: Exercising your non-vote

A few years ago a Yellow Springs village tax levy passed by one vote, driving home the point that this is a town where the cliché “every vote counts” is a truism. This year, in addition to a variety of county-wide levies and state and local issues, voters are faced with three local elections for public office: village council, school board and township trustees.

In the case of council, five candidates are running for three seats; for school board, seven candidates are contesting three seats; and in the township, three candidates are vying for two positions. In the village council election, the candidate who comes in third in the vote count gets a two year term, while the top two vote getters get four year terms. This year it seems we are blessed with having a number of candidates to choose from. There have been council elections in recent times where only three candidates ran for the three seats.

The temptation in this wrinkle in our democracy, of course, is to put the candidates for each position in an ordered list and vote for the appropriate number from the top down. But, what if you only like one or two candidates? Are you obligated to vote for someone you do not want in office? Some might argue that you are, because someone you prefer even less might get in because of your non-vote. In something as vast as a national election this would seem unlikely, but in Yellow Springs every vote counts. And it is precisely because of that, that I argue that you should exercise your non-vote.

Here is the reasoning: Let’s say you have six candidates for three seats. You like candidate A, but A is up against some tough competition from two or three other candidates. There is a good chance A might come in fourth. Of the remaining candidates, some are better than others, but for the most part they are not acceptable to you. In this scenario you need A to get the most votes possible relative to the other candidates. The way for A’s supporters to insure this is to vote only for A and not cast votes for any other contender, unless there is an additional candidate they would very much like to see in office. A vote for an opponent might be just enough to knock your candidate out. Your withholding of that vote might be just enough to insure their election.

This year’s voting is particularly important, especially in village. With two newcomers running for three of five positions, the makeup of village council could change drastically at a time when the village is looking to define itself. The precarious balance that sometimes seems to exist on the current council will likely be upset. The three running for reelection to the school board have sat on a body of five during a time of budgetary challenges, administrative changes, and a downgrade on the statewide report card for the elementary school. Voters have to decide whether to blame some, all, or none of the incumbents for the schools’ problems, or to retain them because of their experience in those matters. Heads are liable to roll.

If there is one candidate in any of these contests that you think stands head and shoulders above the rest and you are concerned that person might not get elected, your best option is to cast one vote and let the rest of the chips fall where they may.