Editorial: Increased voter interest a good local sign
Often, local town elections just don't generate a lot of voter interest. And that's unfortunate, since, as we've noted, each vote can often mean a lot more in a local race decided by dozens of votes than in a national or state election decided by thousands or more.
In that vein, it's been encouraging to see voters turn out for local races in both Rockport and Essex over the past two weeks. Rockport's election — which included an important debt exclusion override and a contested race for two selectmen's seats — didn't hit the mark of 50 percent of registered voters some town officials had predicted. But the 34 percent turnout figure was stronger than tallies there or in other towns in the recent past. And the 28 percent turnout Monday in Essex — for a regular election that included one head-to-head race, for selectman — marked that town's best in 10 years.
Both of those turnout marks, of course, leave plenty of room for improvement — and they aren't on the level of participation anyone would like to see. Still, the latest figures at least indicate that voter interest in town races is on the upswing. That — at long last — suggests that interest in local government is once again on the rise — and that's a good sign.
