RESULTS IN, VOTERS WERE OUT: City Council election garners unusually low turnout

Almost 90 percent of Destinites chose not to choose.

Last week’s municipal election to fill three City Council seats will go down in history as one of the lowest ever attended.

“It seems to me that the few have decided the fate of our city for the many,” said odd man out Cyron Marler, who ran against Larry Hines, Larry Williges and Jim Bagby. “If people wish to complain about the City Council members and how they decide on matters, they better be one of the few that voted, otherwise they need to shut up. They had their chance.”

Only 1,202 of the 9,698 registered voters in Destin took their chance, meaning only 12.4 percent of locals cast ballots in the election. But Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux said the low turnout was expected.

“I expect between 12 and 15 percent of registered voters to turn out for municipal elections,” Lux said. “So the Destin turnout was pretty average.”

But compared to past local elections, turnout for this election was historically low. When seven candidates ran for four seats in 2008, 44.12 percent of registered voters went to the polls, although the presidential primary drew out more voters than usual.

In a 2006 election, eight candidates faced off for three seats, and 24.9 percent of voters cast ballots. And 27.4 percent of voters went to the polls to fill three council seats in 2002.

The lowest turnout in recent history was in 1999, when only 10.67 percent of registered voters turned out to the polls. But that was a special election to fill one council seat that became available. The next lowest, after the recent election, was in 2005. But once again, it wasn’t a regular election. Only 15.3 percent of locals voted on a special referendum that year.

“For one, there was no over-arching issue,” Bagby said of the low turnout. “Another thing is that there wasn’t anything else on the ballot to pull people in. And I think some people just didn’t see their voice or their candidate.

There were only four candidates, and they’re all known. It wasn’t like, ‘Wow, there’s something new and exciting here.’ ”

The District 4 State Representative election on March 23 may have also played a role in the unusually low turnout, according to Lux. He said he had heard from several people who thought the City Council election was on the same day as the District 4 election.

Bagby and Marler heard the same confusion. Both men said they had people stop and ask them why they were out holding signs on Tuesday. When they told the curious passersby that it was Election Day, they all said they thought voting would take place on March 23.

Hines said he wasn’t surprised about the low turnout. He went on to say that, of the 9,698 registered voters on the rolls, a couple of thousand may have moved or passed away. So he thinks the percentage is a little skewed, and the percentage of Destinites that voted was probably closer to 20 percent.

But even if Hines is right, a small minority cast ballots.

“It’s disappointing because this is where people live,” Williges said. “They should really exercise a voice in who they want to represent them.”