Fight election apathy at the polls

Today’s the day.

After months of campaigning, the 2015 local elections are finally upon us. Although voters have been able to submit their ballots by mail for weeks, the actual polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today.

Among the more high-profile races is the three-person contest between Rosemary Vavrin, Vern Halter and incumbent Larry DeVilbiss. DeVilbiss and Halter have spent tens of thousands of dollars making their cases, while Vavrin has elected to do her campaigning mostly by word of mouth. By some time tonight, we’ll likely know which politician’s strategy paid off when election results start rolling in online at the borough’s website (matsugov.us/elections).

There will be elections for city council seats in Wasilla, Palmer and Houston, along with spots on the borough assembly and the school board.

Other big votes include a measure in Wasilla to decide whether to extend the city’s 3 percent sales tax; a boroughwide vote to possibly change the election dates; commercial marijuana prohibitions in Palmer and Houston; and a move to make school board representation by district, rather than boroughwide, as it is now.

Our reporters are closely following the action, and we’ll have live election coverage on our website at frontiersman.com once results start becoming available.

If you’re unsure what district you’re in, the borough website has a helpful map of more than 40 polling places throughout the area. For people without internet access, the borough clerk’s office (907-861-8683) and the Alaska State Division of Elections (1-888-383-8683) offer the same information over the phone.

In the most recent borough election, fewer than 20 percent of registered voters determined the outcome. This poor turnout is always a source of consternation among pundits and politicians alike, and for good reason. When small numbers of “super voters” are allowed to sway the results, what we get is a political atmosphere in which candidates are forced to pander to small numbers of potential special interest voters. This, in turn, produces more and more disenfranchisement among regular folks who feel their voices aren’t heard.

In order to change the way elections are conducted, we first need to break this downward spiral of low voter turnout. The only way to do that is to go to the polls today and speak up for your right to be heard.