New Study Highlights Costs, Impacts of Off-Year California Elections

[Image courtesy of greenlining]

A new report by the Berkeley-based Greenlining Institute released earlier this week finds that off-year municipal elections in many California cities result in higher per-voter costs and which could lead to a less-representative electorate.

The Los Angeles Times has more:

“Our analysis strongly suggests that holding local elections in odd years … almost certainly skews the makeup of the electorate,” said Michelle Romero, director of the group’s Claiming our Democracy program.

In addition, holding local elections separately from state and federal elections raises per-voter costs, the study found.

The report uses data from a survey of the state’s 58 counties to setup a series of case studies that compare the experience of similarly-situated jurisdictions. Based on those comparisons, the group found that communities with consolidated elections had, on average, higher turnout and lower per-voter costs than those with off-year elections.

Based on this data, Greenlining encourages other communities to conduct their own analysis and determine if off-year elections are imposing unnecessary costs:

Cities currently conducting off-cycle elections in odd years could save taxpayer dollars and increase voter turnout by consolidating elections with state elections. We encourage cities to conduct their own cost-benefit analysis and factor in other local considerations when assessing whether consolidation makes sense in their city.

Part of that analysis should include an evaluation of the racial/ethnic representation among voters who turn out and whether those demographics fairly represent the general population. Jurisdictions whose off-year elections effectively skew the electorate and minimize the vote of people of color should consolidate their elections immediately to avoid voting rights violations. [emphasis in original]

The issue of consolidation divides opinion in California just as it does in other states, with cost and turnout considerations balanced against concerns about crowded ballots. Nevertheless, Greenlining’s report is a helpful first step in moving that debate beyond theoretical concerns and identifying some ways to bring data to the discussion.