National elections dominate headlines and political conversations, but some of the decisions that most directly affect Americans’ daily lives are made much closer to home.
From maintaining roads to providing public services, officials within local government make a lot of the decisions that shape their communities. And those city and county officials are often very accessible to the people they represent, especially compared with politicians at the state or federal levels.
That is one reason local elections deserve more attention, according to Darrek Ferrell, an associate professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University and director of the City and County Governance Program.
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“When people think that their vote doesn’t matter, it couldn’t be further from the truth in a local election,” he said, explaining that the smaller scale of local elections gives individual voters a proportionally larger voice than they have in state or national races.
Ballots in Texas often include local races for city council members, county commissioners, constables, sheriffs and other local officials. Voters may also weigh in on propositions or changes to city charters.
Ferrell said outcomes of local elections can shape everything from police to potholes to public policy.
“People often talk about their support for police and fire services, but hardly ever do they include public works. Not once has a fire truck or police car gotten to a call without a road, but we all have complained about potholes,” he said. “Our communities are systems of interconnected operations that shape our everyday lives. If we want to have a high quality of life, these often-invisible services deserve our attention at least during the election.”
Beyond the decisions they make, local officials are usually readily accessible to their constituents. That kind of access gives residents plenty of chances to raise concerns and hold representatives accountable for their campaign promises.
“It’s often friends and neighbors who run for local elections, and when something happens like a local tragedy or problem the community has, the first place to go to resolve it is local government,” Ferrell said. “Locals have the opportunity to encourage representatives to keep their campaign promises a lot more than at a state or a federal level, because when a street doesn’t get fixed or when trash day doesn’t get more consistent, then you can talk to your candidates.”
Ferrell emphasized that civic engagement should not end when voters leave the polls.
“When we pay our taxes, when we speak at public meetings, we are contributing in a way that leaves a positive impact on the future of our communities,” he said. “But the first step in all of that is just casting a vote for the people that we’re going to talk to.”
