Today’s Election Day in Schuylkill County. Now, you may not have anticipated today as much as you may have looked forward to Election Day last year but that doesn’t mean today’s local elections are less important.
In fact, local elections have far more direct impact on your daily lives than any race for President, Senator, or Governor. Yet, elections like today’s just don’t draw voters the way presidential or congressional contests do.
Look at the numbers:
In last year’s General Election for President and US Senator, more than 72,000 votes were cast for candidates on the ballot.
Compare that with four years ago – the last municipal election like today’s with no other races that traditionally draw voters to the polls – when about 31,000 voters cast ballots. And in that race, there were at least a few contested countywide races that drew voters to the polls.
This year, turnout could be lower. All the County races – for District Attorney, Sheriff, and Common Pleas Court Judge – have essentially been decided because Democrats didn’t put any challengers forward.
Combine that with the dearth of candidates for local races – only about one-third of municipalities have a contested major race on the ballot and there are numerous empty spaces on ballots all over Schuylkill County – and tens of thousands of voters are likely going to sit this one out … but they shouldn’t.
In some Schuylkill County municipalities today, races will be decided by just a handful of votes. It may be cliche to say it, but in those instances, every vote matters. Your vote truly does matter.
Again, the races on today’s ballots are putting people in positions to make decisions that impact your life every day.
When you head to the polls for the 2025 Municipal General Election, you’re not voting on distant, abstract policy debates. You’re deciding who will fix your streets (or not), set your property taxes, hire local police officers or decide to defund your local force, and manage the schools your kids attend. You’re shaping decisions about zoning, blight cleanup, fire protection, trash pickup, recreation programs, and scores of other issues that hit closer to home than anything debated in Washington or Harrisburg.
The choices voters make today make a difference in your wallet and your community.
And yet, year after year, voters shrug. They tell themselves their vote doesn’t matter, that local races are small or boring. But the reality is that these small races are where your single vote has the most power. In some precincts, a single ballot could tip the outcome of a local race.
So as we approach another round of municipal elections, it’s worth remembering that change doesn’t just come from the top down. It starts in your neighborhood. It starts at your polling place. It starts with you.
Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
To find out where to vote on Election Day, follow this link to the updated list of Polling Locations in Schuylkill County.
When the polls close, be sure to return to Coal Region Canary for full coverage of the big races and check out our full Schuylkill County Election Results page.
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