Political Participation
With election results in San Francisco finally certified less than three weeks after election day, the March primary was a fun amuse-bouche before the main buffet of democracy this coming November.
There have been a lot of hot takes as the ballots were counted with numerous narratives around homelessness, policing and the progressive nature of San Francisco. Now, with every vote counted, the analysis is starting to roll in from all parts to augur possible outcomes for the next election. So how did San Francisco voters do this past March?
While the main narrative to come out of the March primary was one of low turnout; the final numbers came out to 46.61% of just over 500,000 registered voters. Not as high as a general election with a presidential selection to bring out voters, this was in line with some historical primary elections and not near any of the lowest in recent years. To give some comparison, the 2020 March primary had a turnout of 60.56% of a nearly comparable number of registered voters. But what was surprising to me and the Democratic County Central Committee race in which I participated was the total number of votes cast between Assembly Districts 17 and 19 were actually higher this time than the 2020 vote totals across all candidates.
This increased participation by Democratic Party voters appears to me to be a good sign for November as it indicates that, even with lower turnout for the primary, there is a higher engagement with voters understanding what they are voting on and what they are looking for in candidates. Citizens are engaging with the message of accountability and results locally. This is even played out with the approval of Propositions E and F, which were sold as measures to add some responsiveness to policing procedures and screening for city public assistance. While not receiving overwhelming support, they show that voters are headed in that direction but are conflicted about solutions to the problems our City faces. These tighter electoral decisions are also reflected in Proposition C, the measure to streamline office to housing conversion. Statewide, Proposition 1 passed even more narrowly despite heavy support here in San Francisco.
Although it would be neat trick to prognosticate on what these numbers and sentiment will mean for November compared to 2020, the trends are difficult to extrapolate between pre- and post-COVID where the ratio between in-person Election Day votes and vote by mail are vastly different, as well as the move to consolidate so many elected offices into the November 2024 general election. This upcoming ballot in the fall is expected to be packed full of state and local propositions along with numerous candidates. There is going to be a lot of campaigning work this summer and fall as political forces rally their bases to support their positions on the future of the City.
So where to go from here for the electorate? While I did not make it onto the Democratic County Central Committee, a majority of the Democrats for Change slate candidates were elected to the body. Will the Central Committee be able to follow through on the slate's focus on affordable housing, public safety and education? I personally look forward to seeing more efforts to register more Democrats and to engage our Democratic Party locally to help out battleground elections around the rest of the country as we head into the November general election. If we want to remain a model for the Democratic Party nationally, we need to come together to support and grow the party with solutions to the problems we all are facing rather than complaining about what the other side is doing.
Democracy is only as sound as the participation of the many expressing their voices. There have already been some supervisor candidate debates around the City and there is an expectation of a plethora of ballot measures with signature gatherers out and about. While ballots come out a month before election day, it's going to be packed with things to make decisions on, so it will be best to get ahead of all the information that will be distributed. The best way forward is to be involved early with different groups or Democratic clubs where you can hear from and question the politicians directly.
Brian Quan is a Richmond District native, co-leader of Grow the Richmond, member of the Park Presidio-Sunset Lions Club and leads a monthly Refuse Refuse S.F. street clean-up.
No comments:
Post a Comment