By Mike Matejka

Now that the election is behind us, I’d like to reflect about what I discussed two week ago, which is voter turn-out.   I noted then how much low-income people are often impacted by government policy, yet often have the lowest voter participation.

With all of the noise around this Presidential election year, I’m sad to say that the pattern held true.  Higher income neighborhoods turned out their registered voters in a greater percentage than lower income. Bloomington Precinct 37 was the highest voting in the City, with 83.5 percent of its registered voters participating.  Precinct 37 is in the northeast corner of the city, an area of new construction.   It was closely followed by Precinct 8, the area surrounding Eastland Mall.  Almost tying for third place were precincts 14 and 33, with 81.7 percent turn-out. Precincts 14 and 33 are also east-side areas, with higher priced housing.

And which precincts were the three lowest in Bloomington?   Precinct 6, the central core of downtown, only fielded 57.4 percent of its voters.  Along the Market Street corridor, Precinct 7 was slightly ahead to claim lowest spot number two, with 57.6 percent participation.  And precinct 26, the Stevensonville neighborhood, around Sunnyside Homes, was the third lowest, with 58.2 percent of its registered voters participating. ­­

So in our higher income neighborhoods in Bloomington, 70 to 80 percent turn-out rates were common, while in our lower income areas, even getting 60 percent turn-out was difficult.

Now I say this not to blame the upper-income areas for participating – good for them, they’ve set a goal we should all aspire to reach.   But a question that perennially troubles me is why our most vulnerable citizens do not exercise their rights?   Illinois has some of the most accessible voting laws in the country, so unlike other states, voter ID or other barriers are not a problem.

Let me identify three things that might cause this.  Number one, if you are low income, every day is a survival race.  Taking time to learn the issues and vote might sound important, but daily issues of food, shelter and transportation often take precedent.  Number two, poor people often feel powerless.  There is often little control over daily life, so casting a vote might seem like a useless exercise, with little immediate return.  And finally, I think many of us, and not just low-income people, need more civic education.  We get excited about Presidential races, but forget who is in Congress, the State House, the Governor’s Mansion and City Hall is just as important.

Hopefully between our schools, churches and community organizations, we can all educate each other better.  At the same time, drawing the line between government policy and one’s own well-being is a connection we seem too often to miss.   I hope we can find ways to break this pattern.

Mike Matejka is the Governmental Affairs director for the Great Plains Laborers District Council, covering 11,000 union Laborers in northern Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. He lives in Normal. He served on the Bloomington City Council for 18 years, is a past president of the McLean County Historical Society and Vice-President of the Illinois Labor History Society.

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