Unfortunately, there are a lot of races that are either uncontested or no one is running at all. I counted more than 60 positions on the Lee and Whiteside County ballots that offered no choice, or all the candidates listed are unopposed. The Sauk Valley is not unique.
According to Ballotpedia (ballotpedia.org), a nonprofit organization that describes itself as a digital encyclopedia of politics, 70 percent of the 2024 races throughout the county were uncontested. Ballotpedia says it covered 76,902 elections in 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five territories. Of that total, 53,485 (70 percent) were uncontested and 23,417 (30 percent) were contested.
The 70 percent uncontested election rate in 2024 was the highest rate Ballotpedia has covered in a year since data collection began in 2018. The second highest rate was 65 percent in 2020. The lowest rate in a year was 50 percent in 2021.
Who can blame someone for not running for political office? It takes time and lots of demanding work to campaign. It costs money. Then there is the changing temperature of politics. I remember when politicians described what they do as the art of knowing what is possible. Now it feels more like a blood sport that brings threats to you and your family for daring to step up and serve.
I know the best advice is to never talk about religion or politics. Passions can get high, fast. Even election judges in parts of our country have been threatened with violence just for doing their job. Most of the insanity centers around national elections. Now even local elections have become more intense. Only a brave or a truly committed person will put up with the stress.
The other reason for so few contested general elections is Gerrymandering, where the state’s leaders draw districts to favor one party over the other. As a result, there is less incentive to challenge the dominant party.
When there are fewer contested races, there are fewer choices to get the voters to turn out. Turnout suffers. And as a taxpayer, you are forced to accept what is offered.
Voters deserve to have a choice when it comes to spending tax money and providing the services you’ve come to expect. If enough people decide to take a chance to step up, we can hopefully have more choices for future elections.
And then some…
The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Dixon is looking to hire lifeguards to keep the pool open for swimming. Andy McFarland, the Dixon YMCA director, pointed out that Dixon is the boyhood home of a famous lifeguard, former United States President Ronald Reagan.
It is said that during his time as a lifeguard at Lowell Park in Dixon, Reagan saved 77 people. He started the job as a sophomore in high school during the summer of 1925. He continued to work there during the summers for the next seven years.
I can’t promise that becoming a lifeguard will do as much for a young person as it did for our town’s most famous son. But taking the job would mean my wife would get to swim during her lunch hour more often.
