Too many local candidates have a history of not voting.

If you are registered to vote, by now you have likely received a voter guide prepared by the Monterey County Elections Department with a sample ballot. If in some races you are undecided or simply don’t care, you can still turn in your ballot and be recorded as having voted – leaving all the bubbles blank, or writing in Mickey Mouse for mayor, is its own form of participation.

And voting is, in our system of governance, the most elemental form of participation. Local government is a participatory process – you can show up at every public meeting to listen in and, if you so choose, get up to the microphone to tell them what you think they are doing right or wrong. But the core responsibility of all of us voters is to elect the people we think will best reflect our priorities.

Voter participation is persistently disappointing in the United States, and Monterey County is no exception. In the March primary, just 32.8 percent of registered voters in Monterey County cast a vote. Turnout was better in the 2022 general election, 49.3 percent. And the 2020 general election was even better, typical of presidential elections, but still just 80.2 percent of voters showed up.

There is a subset of the population in whom I would expect a higher rate of turnout, and that is people who are seeking election. It seems hypocritical if you don’t regularly vote to ask others to cast their vote for you.

Under the California Public Records Act, I requested and received from the Monterey County Elections Department a list of candidates for local office and whether they have voted in elections since the 2020 primary. (Of course their actual votes, via secret ballot, are not public information; whether or not they returned a ballot is.) There are 124 locally registered candidates who have had the opportunity to vote at least 671 times since then. In 102 instances, they did not return a ballot – meaning they missed voting 15.2 percent of the time.

My unscientific analysis shows a few trends. Water board candidates are a participatory bunch who regularly vote. They outshine other candidates for special districts – school boards, health care districts, etc. – who turn out at a lower rate than city council candidates, missing 17.5 percent of opportunities to vote.

School and college districts have a relatively poor showing. In Salinas City Elementary School District Area 2, Maria Bonilla-Giuriato missed five of the six last elections. (Her competitor, Jennifer Zanzot, missed two, attributed to the chaos of life: “I take voting seriously and hope others will too,” she says.)

For the only contested seat on the Hartnell Community College board this year, Area 1, challenger Henry Sutton missed five of the past six elections; incumbent Alejandra González missed three.

Sutton’s explanation probably resonates with many voters: He tunes into presidential elections. “I guess I should be paying attention more,” he says. “It’s just an honest mistake.”

Candidates for Carmel Unified School District skipped voting 23 percent of the time. Monica Tavakoli and Molly Bozzo each missed two since 2020; Jeannette Witten, one; and Jason Remynse, three. (Tavakoli's local voting record begins in 2022 when she moved to the area, and she did not vote in the two elections since that date, because she says she did not yet feel informed about the issues.) 

It’s not just special districts, but candidates for city office too. In Carmel, records show council candidate Parker Logan missed three of the past five elections; Hans Buder missed two and Bob Delves missed one. Logan says he voted in person, and this data point adds to his “growing suspicion on fair election practices.”

Others have explanations for the one-offs – medical issues, Covid, emergencies. But for some, it is a pattern.

In Seaside, mayoral candidate Karla Lobo missed four of the past five elections. In Pacific Grove, mayoral candidate Dionne Ybarra missed four.

“Voting is a personal decision,” Ybarra says. “I don’t use my vote as my only voice and action.”

She cites the toxic political climate as a deterrent. It’s understandable that things can feel so toxic that it’s easier to sit it out. But I think the better remedy is putting in the effort.

I commend those who are running for office – it’s a big commitment, a volunteer endeavor and hard work that subjects you to scrutiny. But I hope when asking others to vote for them, they will think about also doing the work to participate and cast a vote themselves, and set an example for the most straightforward form of participation.

SARA RUBIN is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@montereycountynow.com