A total of 42,353 Denton County voters cast a ballot in the joint election on Saturday. Denton County has 614,020 registered voters, putting turnout at just 6.9%.
Voting numbers are down significantly from the same time last year, when a total of 57,919 ballots were cast.
鈥淢ay elections are typically one of our lower-turnout elections,鈥� Denton County Elections Administrator Frank Phillips said. 鈥淏ut this year was lower than we normally see.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always difficult to determine why voters choose to vote or not, but I suspect that there is some voter fatigue after the presidential election this past November.鈥�
In the city of Denton, 9.13% of registered voters cast a ballot for City Council seats and changes to the city charter. This is the lowest voter turnout since the 2021 May election, which saw 8.35% voter turnout, according to Denton County Elections Administration.
With his reelection Saturday, Brian Beck remains the City Council member for District 2. About 9.7% of registered voters in his district cast a ballot.
Voters in District 3 鈥� which saw a 7.59% turnout 鈥� will have to head to the polls again to elect their next council representative. The between Suzi Rumohr and Margie Ellis is set for June 7. Rumohr received 941 votes, while Ellis and Karen DeVinney were separated by two votes 鈥� Ellis received 587 and DeVinney received 585, according to unofficial election results.
Phillips said that voting in local elections is important because local representatives have a significant impact on people鈥檚 lives.
鈥淲ith national politics taking center stage, I think voters sometimes forget that local elections may have a bigger impact on their daily lives than the federal government,鈥� Phillips said.
鈥淟ocal officials set tax rates, build and repair streets and roads, and provide local services that voters use on a daily basis, such as police and fire service.鈥�
University of North Texas political science professor Leslie Finger echoed this idea, saying that individual votes matter even more when fewer voters cast a ballot.
鈥淭he people voting in local elections are often not representative of the general population,鈥� Finger said in an email. 鈥淭hey tend to be older, more educated and more likely to have a direct stake in the local election.鈥�
As an example, Finger cited teachers, who more likely to vote in school board elections than other people.
鈥淭his means that to ensure the general population is getting a voice, people need to turn out,鈥� she said.
CAMILA GONZALEZ can be reached at 940-566-6830 and cgonzalez@dentonrc.com.
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