Oct. 27 Daily News editorial

Eleven days ago, Cowlitz County elections officials mailed out a record number of general election ballots — 55,702. It’s time for those voters who still have their ballots in hand to focus. They have exactly one week left to fill out and return their ballots.

Both county and state elections officials are expecting a little more than half of registered voters to participate in this off-year election. County Elections Supervisor Carolyn Myers has forecast a 56 percent turnout. Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed is predicting a more anemic turnout statewide of just 51 percent.

Reed’s office calls that rate of participation “respectable” in an election with no national or statewide contests. Still, the secretary of state expressed misgivings over the prospect of just over half of the electorate showing up.

“Our local governments are the level closest to our daily lives,” Reed said in a recent press release, “affecting everything from potholes and transportation projects to budget priorities and the future of our schools and our ports. It’s sad to think of nearly half the electorate sitting this one out, particularly when so much is at stake. Your voice is needed.”

Indeed, there is quite a lot at stake for Cowlitz County voters. Three seats on the Longview City Council are up for grabs, as are two seats on the Castle Rock City Council and one each on the Kelso and Woodland city councils. There also are school board races to be decided in Kelso and Woodland. Getting the right people in these positions seems particularly important in these difficult economic times. Writing the next city government and school budgets will be very challenging.

If the turnout for this off-year election beats the predictions of county and state elections officials, it might be because the Nov. 3 ballot lists two statewide measures — Initiative 1033, which would cap the annual growth of local and state government general funds, and Referendum 71, which asks voters to affirm or reject the legislatively enacted domestic partnership law.

Statewide ballot measures can make a significant difference in off-year election turnout. In Cowlitz County, for example, turnout for the 2005 off-year election was an impressive 65 percent. There were five statewide measures — ranging from a ban on smoking in public places (approved) to an initiative aimed at rolling back a gasoline tax increase (rejected) — on the ballot that year. Initiative activity dropped sharply in the following off-year election, and so did voter participation. Only 50 percent of Cowlitz County voters participated in the 2007 election.

Local elections officials expect a better turnout in this election. That’s certainly our hope. These county races and ballot measures shouldn’t be decided by around half of the electorate. Government works best when most citizens are willing to inform themselves and be heard at the polls.