Apr
9
Why SB2 Ballot System is Good
Filed Under Plainfield News, School Info, Town Info, Voting Information
On March 11, 2008 voters cast their ballots for or against SB2. There results were YES: 240 and NO: 254.
That means c.49% 0f voters wanted SB2 all day voting system. Remarkable for our first try.
In Plainfield, money warrants succeed when voter numbers are minimal. Ideally, School Boards want to encourage a maximum # of voters to come and vote for the budget it has constructed. Ideally! Reality? Having honestly struggled for months to compose a budget, a board wants acceptance.
Around the State voter turnout for School budgets is about 25% more or less. And the voters who do come often have a vested interest in passage, v.g. salary increases. So the temptation for a Board is to stack the deck; stay with a system that produces low turnout and acceptance. Minimal looks good!
But why such low turnouts? The faithful 25% who do meet and vote say to the other 75%“Tough if you don’t like it. You didn’t bother to come! It’s your fault.”
But we don’t know why 75% fail to come. Many of the no-shows are our friends, solid citizens; so we can’t attribute carelessness or sloth for failing to meet and vote. Maybe the traditional 200 year old method doesn’t satisfy the modern family and society. And they can inform themselves about warrant articles through other modern means: newspapers, pamphlets, radio, computers, discussions with friends, bulletin boards.
Rather than blaming, let’s support an alternate way to vote. All-day voting sessions on non-meeting days tends to produce 40-50% more voters. The old system doesn’t meet today’s needs. Senate Bill 2 (SB 2) does provide a solution. And today 30-40% of our towns use SB2 successfully. . Board members and teachers openly discourage voting for SB 2. They claim they want to preserve the charming traditional citizens’ meeting and discussion But what about the voters?
The Board’s obligation to citizens (who voted for them) is to provide an accommodating voting opportunity. “The more people who vote, the better. Isn’t that what Town Meeting is all about?”, as Jim Kenyon asks in his Valley News column, p.A2, 02-27-08.
And the beauty of the SB2 system is that it does not eliminate the traditional New England citizens’ discussions on town issues.
Please watch for an upcoming poll on why only 75% of all eligible voters fail to come to vote.