C’mon Miami-Dade. Across the county, only 20 percent of you voted in the Aug. 30 election — despite the fact that voter turnout matters most in local elections.
Take a look. This map shows the voter turnout by precinct (as a percentage of registered voters, so already only a fraction of the Miami-Dade County population):
Source: Miami-Dade County Elections
Of the seven green precincts — meaning 40 percent turnout or more — four have fewer than 5 registered voters in them. The only precinct with more than 40 percent turnout and more than 1,000 voters is in Little Havana: Precinct 503. Smack in the middle of that precinct are these folks.
Why don’t we vote? It’s not just a Miami problem. Turnout in local elections can be as low as 10 percent across the country.
But that’s crappy company to have.
Lucky for you, the mayoral race and two school board races are headed to runoffs, so you get a second shot. Let’s do better in November.
Editor’s note: The races heading towards a November runoff has been corrected.