By Emma Falk | Reporter
Local elections for the March 3 primaries in Texas and McLennan County are approaching, and many Baylor students said they don’t feel informed or prepared to vote.
Local elections often receive less attention than national or state races; however, participation in local elections plays a key role in shaping the city, McLennan County Elections Administrator Jared Goldsmith said.
“Democracy truly happens at the local level,” Goldsmith said. “Your voice is much louder at the local level versus the federal or even the state level when you’re competing against millions of other voters.”
Houston junior Allison Zilafro said she feels that students think local elections don’t affect them as directly.
“I feel like the majority of our life is focused on campus, which kind of has its own structure that isn’t affected by local politicians,” Zilafro said.
Despite that perception, city officials make decisions that influence areas around campus, such as housing and safety, according to Goldsmith. While Baylor has its own policies and structure, city officials still determine many factors that impact students, especially those who live off campus.
Baylor students also make up a significant portion of the population in Waco, and if students don’t vote, decisions will be made mostly by older, long-term residents. This means that student concerns such as housing, transportation and safety near campus won’t be prioritized.
“There will be McLennan County candidates, and that’s our home and the home to Baylor, so it’s important for everybody who lives here to make sure that their voice is heard,” Goldsmith said.
Goldsmith also added that local elections tend to have much smaller voter turnout in comparison to state or nationwide elections, where people feel like their individual vote won’t make a difference. But for a small city election, one vote can have a much stronger impact.
Zilafro emphasized the reason why many students don’t participate in local elections is not due to lack of care, but lack of information. Zilafro said students should be more exposed to information about upcoming elections and stay in the loop.
Early voting starts Feb. 17, and the deadline for counties to receive mail-in ballot requests is Feb. 20. On Feb. 11, county election offices will post the polling locations on their website for Election Day and for the early-voting period. Additional information on voting procedures and election preparation can be found here.
