Published: March 25, 2008 11:09 pm      

Chamber proposes study on voting in Beckley

The office of Beckley mayor and seven council seats were in the voters’ hands in 2006.

Less than 15 percent of voters decided who would win their parties’ nominations, and general election turnout was in the single digits.

Officials from the Beckley-Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce came to city leaders Tuesday night, proposing a study that could find out what needs to be done to change that.

Karen Bowling, CEO of Raleigh General Hospital and chairwoman for the chamber, said chamber officials want to know how they can get Beckley residents involved with their city and increase voter turnout. A successful city, she said, has excited voters. She and other chamber officials would like the city to further examine a study to find out ways to bring more people to the polls.

The city’s voter turnout for its March 2006 primary was 13.59 percent and its May 2006 general election turnout was 5.72 percent.

Bowling said the chamber will continue talks with city government officials, and whether the study is done will depend on those talks. The chamber, she said, will do whatever it can to “get the ball rolling”.

Mayor Emmett Pugh said the city has studied voter turnout for about four or five months, gathering information from the West Virginia Municipal League. While several candidates ran unopposed, Pugh noted Morgantown’s last election turnout was 5 percent. A university town, he believes, should have a more robust election. City Recorder/Treasurer Gary Sutphin said Morgantown also has nonpartisan elections.

Councilman Cedric Robertson said several people were involved with voter registration drives at churches during the last city election. He believes work could begin at churches by organizing their members.

Mick Bates, chief clinical officer for Bodyworks Health, Fitness and Rehabilitation, said his native Australia’s average voter turnout is about 96 percent. All citizens are required to register to vote when they turn 18, and not voting can get someone fined. However, he believes a culture of wanting to be involved in decisions affecting everyone’s daily lives is what pushes people to the polls.

“You would want to not vote no more than you want to dump garbage on your living room floor,” he said. “It’s precious — it’s all that you’ve got. It’s tradition. You have the chance to impact the lives of your family and your community.”

But Tuesday night, only 40 people came to the Beckley Common Council meeting while the mayor and council members discussed the city’s $14 million budget and whether city employees would get pay raises, Bates noted.

“There’s a whole lot more watching ‘American Idol’ or ‘Dancing with the Stars,’” Bates said.

Bates believes simply getting someone to the polls needs to happen first. The voters will then want to know more about the people and issues on the ballot and become more informed. The increased interest in the presidential election could also spur more interest in politics in general.

“We have to ride that wave, all together,” he said.

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