Due to low voter turnout in local elections, the City of Long Beach is changing its local election dates to align with those of the state, as mandated by a state law passed in 2015.

 

Senate Bill (SB) 415 aims to increase voter participation. The law dictates that, if voter turnout for a municipal election was at least 25% lower than its average turnout for the last four statewide general elections, a city must form a plan to change its election dates by January 1, 2018. It must enact this plan no later than November 8, 2022.

 

At their October 3 meeting, councilmembers adopted a resolution with a plan to move the city’s election dates in 2020. The local contests, which include the selection of the Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education members, also move from an April primary and June election, to a March primary and November election. This means the campaign season stretches for eight months instead of two.

 

“That would be such an incredible length of time,” 4th District Councilmember Daryl Supernaw told the Business Journal. “City council is a part-time position. I just can’t imagine going from March to November in campaign mode. It takes away from your normal duties as councilmember. You’ll have to deal with the expense, as well as the general fatigue, both for the candidate and the voter.”

 

Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell agreed, stating that the law could result in “unintended consequences.”

 

“I think the idea was to cut down on election fatigue, but this bill could have the opposite effect,” he said. “It’s not healthy for the voters, I don’t think it’s healthy for democracy, and I don’t think it will be healthy for the City of Long Beach. It’s the job of a local government to set the election cycle, not Sacramento.”

 

SB 415 was passed before SB 568, which moved the state’s primary election to March. That decision gives California more influence in determining the candidates for presidential elections. Although SB 568 was signed into law last month, it does not void the ruling of SB 415, according the city attorney’s office. If SB 568 had failed, Long Beach would have moved its primary to June.

 

Beginning in 2020, all regularly scheduled city elections and special elections will be run by the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters.

 

City Clerk Monique DeLaGarza said that changing the election timing will free up her department to focus on other goals, such as improving civic engagement.

 

“We’ve been so busy in the last 17 years having election after special election,” she said. “Since I started in this office, there’s maybe been only two or three years when we haven’t had an election of some kind. If you look at election history, we’re only supposed to have them every other year. But we’ve had special elections, ballot measures and county consolidated November elections. It’s just been back to back. We’ve had a very busy millennium so far.”

 

Former City Councilmember and current Long Beach City College Board Trustee Jeff Kellogg expressed concern that local issues would be “drowned out” if the elections are consolidated. He also said it could force local politics to become more partisan.

 

“People will feel that they have to be a part of other initiatives to draw the attention of voters,” he said. “I don’t think that’s really valuable.” City councilmembers do not run for office representing a particular political party. Neither do school board candidates.

 

He did say that aligning the elections would “without a doubt” draw out more voters, but not accomplish the wider goal of increasing civic engagement at the local level.

 

“If the argument is only about voter turnout, of course, when you have a presidential election and statewide initiatives, which can be very controversial, you’ll have more voters,” Kellogg said. “But it will not relate specifically to people interested in following local elections. Their attention will be on other issues, and therefore, I think that’s a disadvantage for our local office holders. They’re not going to get the same kind of scrutiny because they’re being overwhelmed with other issues on the ballot.”

 

But Long Beach Harbor Commissioner Frank Colonna, who served two terms on the city council, said a larger voter turnout is “always a good thing.”

 

“There’d be a lot more publicity if the local election coincided with a state or national primary,” he said. “There’s also the possibility of more candidates running and becoming known to the public.”

 

He said that one reason city elections fail to attract voters is because it takes a large amount of campaign funding and publicity to create awareness. If local contests were consolidated with a general election, it would result in an increase of both.

 

Bonnie Lowenthal, also a current Long Beach Harbor Commissioner, is a former state assemblymember and city councilmember. She agreed that moving the election dates should generate “more robust civic engagement.”

 

“In local elections, whether it’s for the school board or city council, we’ve seen abysmal numbers when it comes to those who choose to go to the polls or send in their vote by mail,” she said. “I think it will be far increased if there are a lot more general issues and a wider range of candidates. If people don’t choose to go because of local elections, they will go because of the state and general elections.”

 

As to identifying the cause of the low participation, Kellogg said, it is an “age-old question.”

 

“There’s waves where races are competitive and you have candidates with very strong beliefs,” he said. “Whenever you have controversy, you have voter turnout. Beyond that, it’s civic responsibility, which you hope is taught and supported.”

 

Lowenthal described a disconnect between the municipal government and its constituents.

“There isn’t much information locally that reaches voters,” she said. “I don’t think people in general realize how local decisions impact their daily lives.”

 

Business Journal Publisher George Economides said he agrees voter turnout should increase, but is concerned that many voters who do not vote in local elections may not take the time to become informed about officeholders or issues on a local ballot. “Bonnie Lowenthal is correct about ‘the disconnect.’ They know who they’ll vote for for president because they follow national politics, but only get involved locally if an issue affects them directly.”

 

Kellogg also cited the city’s changing demographics. He said Long Beach now has a high population of immigrants, who may not trust the government based on negative experiences in their home countries.

 

“Some people here come from countries where the government was horribly corrupt and vindictive. They haven’t had any experience with free elections and democracy,” he said. “When you’re trying to feed your family, learn the language and become adjusted to a new culture, you’re probably not focused on who’s becoming the next mayor.”

 

When he ran for a seat on both the city council and the school board, Kellogg said he conducted a “grassroots campaign,” knocking on doors to connect with voters personally. This is a challenge in today’s world of social media and mass mailings, he said.

 

“More often than not, someone who shows up at your door is not someone you want to talk to,” he said.