BRATTLEBORO — Provide better information to those not regularly interested in government goings on; much clearer, easier access to candidates (bullet points on them); issue clarification; better, clearer info as to importance of issues.
Apathy is like a disease; you have to know you've got it before you can correct or treat it. Apathy shields the non-voter from the importance of voting.
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Extend the hours!
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More easy-to-understand information about what will be on the ballot in local press. If you don't know who or what to vote for, you tend not to vote.
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Wish I had an idea, but the kind of incentive that would get out one voter might keep another one home. I think a key is to somehow get people to take more ownership of the process and believe that their vote matters. How to do that is beyond me, but I'm glad you're trying to figure it out, since it is so important.
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Reminders sent home via school kids.
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Establish vote-by-mail - make it easy for people to vote! Instant runoff voting would increase interest and the sense that every vote counts. Too many people believe that their vote doesn't make a difference.
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Teach the Town Charter in high school; let students argue it out and suggest fixes.
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1. Include a free breakfast in the morning, free lunch in the afternoon, and free dinner or ice-cream social in the evening. People always show up when there is free food available.
2. Designate voter block captains who go door-to-door on their respective streets before the election to talk to people about how to register to vote, and when and where to vote.
3. Create a competition between the voting districts so people feel compelled to help their district win. A prize incentive might be offered.
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Lots of outreach and education. I do think person-to-person contact is best. Perhaps door-to-door campaigns to get out the vote, educate people on the issues; and particularly on the importance of voting.
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Provide a way to get voters to the polls, and make the ballots clearer.
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Teach better civics in schools.
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Smart, creative publicity. Local vote gatherings or potlucks leading up to the elections. Social networking.
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I like the idea of working with Brattleboro Union High School to educate students about the importance of voting so that they can influence their parents to vote, even if they can't yet themselves. This effort should include basic civics education: why should they vote, etc.
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Write a series of vignettes “Your Vote Does Matter” - stories of when a few votes mattered (Gore/Bush run, civil rights registrations, etc.) and when votes haven't mattered at all - various African and Middle Eastern elections. Publish them in the local papers leading up to voting day.
Write a letter to all local business and educational institutions asking the leaders to encourage and make possible voting by the others.
Produce a column leading up to a voting day entitled “Room for Debate” that would define one issue at a time and provide space for a pro and con representation of the issue.
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More voter registration in public spots and in schools where appropriate.
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Make voting day a day off from work - a holiday - to emphasize the importance.
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The Selectboard members should actually listen to the voters of this town, rather than trying to force their own agenda on us.
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Bring the options for voting to every citizen's attention, emphatically, and repeatedly, through a multimedia campaign.
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Give some incentive to vote: one free parking ticket or something like that!
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Get a broad spectrum of key figures in the town - a variety of people who are respected by every community - to go around speaking out about the importance of voting.
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Go door to door asking people to vote without any particular candidate in mind.
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Offer a more detailed discussion of issues in newspaper. Launch local phone or email campaigns before election.
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Figure out who is not voting. Ask them why, what it would take to get them to vote, and do what they tell you.
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Make the hours longer; perhaps have two polling places.
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Give everyone who votes a big roast beef sandwich, a $100 bill, and maybe a porn show. Sorry, I do feel somewhat cynical about the intellectual level of the American public.
My idealistic side believes that people would participate more if shown real policy alternatives, given some genuine discussion about the pros and cons of various choices (instead of the dumb sloganeering which passes for debate) and genuine reason to believe that their vote could make a difference.
I think that what you are doing will have a discernible effect. Let's hope so.
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Really publicize and make it easy to get your ballot by mail and how to mail it back, etc. That seems really easy and convenient. It's problematic for me to get to the polling places since I work in Putney and have a long workday.
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Getting more people to believe that voting does some good. Now, how to do that? That is a bigger question.
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Voters have to believe that their votes count - that their voices are being heard. Even locally that is not always the case. Politicians have a way of advancing their own agendas once they are elected. Thus, the voters are apathetic.
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Voting on Saturdays, longer hours, same-day registration; forums in different places (churches, large workplaces, schools).
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Run candidates who will actually do something about the high taxes and closing of business, and who will want to be more business friendly, including with box stores.
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Direct voting on the budget, instead of doing it through representatives.
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Outreach: hold voter registration in libraries and supermarkets; run candidates who reflect the demographics of low voter turnout; make it mandatory, like paying taxes, registering your car, having insurance.
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Have more direct events in the schools and in neighborhoods where voting happens less.
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Vocal endorsement of candidates. Presence in public gatherings.
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Register teens at sporting and other high school events. I have done that. Also, it lets younger teens see older students register, and it becomes a status symbol, something to look forward to. Additionally, while one does voter registration, we get to have a conversation about why do it!
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Often there aren't many things to really vote for. The ballot says “Fill in no more than 14” and there are only eight to choose from. Or there is only one person running. So I think most people feel like they kind of wasted their time going to vote. It feels meaningless.
I guess that would mean recruiting more people to run and campaign to make it worthwhile to get out and vote.
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Go door to door and talk to people. Rather than preaching to the converted through media outlets, go to venues where “locals” hang out, like gas stations, VFW, Masons, lodge, Emil's, playgrounds. Figure out where the non-voters live and go find them and talk about the issues. They are not looking at flyers or Internet postings, I bet.
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I think this question is misplaced. I would much rather have a small group of informed voters than a large group of uninformed people making town decisions.
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Get better coverage of elections in the Reformer. If our newspaper was more professional, selectpersons would be asked to explain their votes and positions after making important decisions and this would help people decide who to retain and who to dump.
Hold a Selectboard meeting at the high school during school hours every year, get as many students to attend as possible, and do question-and-answer and voter registration afterward.
Recruit student members for town committees. (It could fulfill the community service requirement at BUHS.) Get better coverage in the Reformer of Selectboard and committee agendas before the day of the meeting so people can plan to attend.
Run a voter shuttle on election day from West Brattleboro and Main Street. Keep raising the standard for campaigns so that candidates do real outreach. (Good job, Ken!)
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True transparency of government. Make consistent efforts to break down the politicians-versus-people mentality.
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Focus on reasons to vote, not just how to get there.
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Stop telling people it's a duty - it's a privilege that comes with living in a democratic society, and if you don't use it, you lose it.
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Longer hours at the polls.
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Better publicity in the Reformer and The Commons and on the radio - not just on the day, but in the weeks before. Highlight issues that matter to people!
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Sometimes I wish we could shape people up; people complain a lot but don't do much to support our democratic processes and hold officials accountable. My way of helping is talking to people, though this is not always met with approval or/and enthusiasm.
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Somehow getting it across to voters that the results have a direct impact on their daily lives, whether the vote is for local officials, or state or national offices.
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Fight cynicism.
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Create a social norms campaign. Read the book Join the Club.
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Publish the names of non-voters in the paper, much like the list of delinquent property taxpayers is published in the annual Town Report. Appealing to non-voters' civic spirit; pleading and cajoling hasn't worked, so why not try ridicule and shame?
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Figure out why people do not vote.
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We need to have more ways to communicate what the ongoing issues are throughout the year (beyond the Reformer and the local access station). Perhaps a regular e-mail bulletin summarizing key decisions made by the Selectboard.
At election time, it would also be useful to have bios for all individuals running for all offices, along with a thumbnail description of the duties of those offices.
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The thing I find unpleasant is the candidates and or supporters outside the polls. For some reason, it makes me uneasy.
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I don't understand why everyone doesn't vote. They make it so easy.
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I grew up in a country where voting is mandatory. People have the right to use all the services that our town can offer. People have the right to ask for student loans and food stamps, which is good. Don't get me wrong but what about some “responsibilities” like voting?
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Hammering it home in the schools that it's both an obligation and right, and that we can really change things by coming out in force. But I don't know if that will make much of a difference.
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Get more information out about early voting. Shuttle service from downtown and other areas (such as Westgate, Putney Road) for those without transportation.
Long-term view: more education (from early elementary years on) about the political process and the importance of voting change the world.
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Get new blood to run for office.
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Yeah, if you don't vote, then shut up!
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Hot issues, not the same ol', same ol'.
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More outreach to remind folks to vote... perhaps printed material in mailboxes or a banner/flyers downtown and in various shopping areas.
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Ask students to describe voting experience of parents.
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Promote early voting. Offer voting at convenient locations around Brattleboro during the month leading to the election time.
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Have the town take more public stands for our common well-being, such as participating wholeheartedly in the new recycling campaign and underscoring the importance to the town of closing Vermont Yankee.
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Allow polls to open earlier. I am amazed that they are open so late on election day!
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I usually pick up a ballot and return it in person. I think mailing out ballots to registered voters might help. Another thing that this might facilitate is increased voter awareness of who and what we are voting, so we won't find out only when we get to the polls.
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I think getting more information out to people about candidates and issues facing Vermont, possibly on a very easily accessible website, as well as mail-based fliers or pamphlets. While a lot of people around here don't necessarily have access to the web, those who do will find an online resource very helpful.
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Have more locations for voting. Go door to door. Don't expect people to come to you. It will be the same people coming every time.
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Open the polls earlier; make sure the voting booths are set up the night before. Offer better parking. The teachers usually take the good spots when school is in session.
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Greater information and knowledge by the voters should increase their interest and participation. Happy voters often don't bother.
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Get rid of Representative Town Meeting!
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Absentee ballots are what allow me to vote at all. I have severe phobias, and going to the polls, especially when there are lots of people there, is usually beyond my ability.
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Yes, we need fewer old people on the select board.
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Free doughnuts? Just kidding
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Bring back civics in the classroom and importance of becoming involved in the governing of one's community, state and country.
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If I think of anything I'll get back to you.
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Yeah, we should vote on weekends! Barring that long shot, I'm not sure.
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More contested races. More press on the time and place to vote.
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If you could convince the media to spend as much time on voting as they do on Vermont Yankee, turnout would exceed 75 percent.
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Ignorance and apathy abound!
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A downtown location? River Garden?
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Better candidates.
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Have each voter commit to trying to get one non-voter to the polls. Also, earlier hours (open polls at 7 a.m.) would be super helpful.
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I think there's a lot of apathy about voting because many people think that whoever they vote for won't make a difference. (“Whoever I vote for, the government will get in.”) I understand this view, even though I am an inveterate voter myself.
I think that transforming apathy is a long-term project that entails undoing barriers to direct citizen participation, so more citizens feel (and are) truly empowered. Empowered citizens are more likely to participate as voters.
I'm not so optimistic that this transformation will happen because, in general, those with power don't want to give it up and really deal with the struggles of the disempowered.
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Using more humor. Civic-minded individuals sometimes lose their sense of humor. How 'bout a person in a monkey suit (or some other such thing) on Main Street to get the word out on election day? This town is zany and might need a zany approach.
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Less info about why candidate A is better than candidate B and more about what the issues facing the town are and why we should care about them and how voting can help.
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Drive around and pick people up.
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I can't imagine it being any easier for Brattleboro folks to vote. Free parking. Public transportation. No lines. Easy to get to. Ballots can be brought to your house. How much easier could it be?
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Have a major depression or a war on home territory so citizens understand why they need a voice.
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In this case, I would not even know how to lead the horse to water.
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Offer free ponies? Seriously, perhaps beefed-up high-school education about voting and public education via various media.
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Civic education in elementary school. Free food at the polls ;-)
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Teenagers going door to door to ask everyone if they have voted, and if not why not, and don't they care about their children?
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Come up with a plan to truly move Brattleboro forward and interest will increase. We've been in neutral for a long time.
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Invest in education and responsible non-for-profit media.
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E-mail reminders the day before, then a front-page reminder in the Reformer.
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Ask voting neighbors to invite their neighbors to go to the polls with them.
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In this town? I find it shameful that only around 20 percent of Brattleboro's registered voters exercised their franchise in the 2011 elections.
The “carrot” in the voting process is that a person has an opportunity to express his or her political choices and social opinions, but this action has to come from the heart, a feeling of pride at participating in a process that began in this country over 230 years ago.
But there is no “stick” if a person chooses not to vote - no curtailment of privileges, or rights, or social benefits. And until attitudes change among the 80 percent of the lazy, self-centered, self-indulgent registered voters in Brattleboro that didn't vote, I don't expect to see the numbers changing drastically.
To get them out to vote in Brattleboro? Pay them or feed them for showing up at the polls?
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I think mostly people don't vote locally because of apathy. They don't really connect voting to anything that's happening in their daily lives. So that makes it hard to tackle.
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Involve more young people. Let seniors know they can get ballots by mail, that they don't have to travel to the polls.
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Not interested. I want the voters who do vote to be better informed. Just having more people vote does not improve democracy.
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A door-to-door campaign to register voters always helps. Hannah Cosman came to our house and registered us there about 38 years ago.
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Have a drawing for a quarterly tax payment for those voting.
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Recruit to run and elect candidates who are honest, care about their communities, and get things done to the best of their abilities. In short, restore faith in the process!