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Shame on us.
Since 1998, voter turnout
for Millburn school board
and spending elections have
averaged less than 20%.

The Township does not have a very good voting record. That was one of the primary reasons that concerned citizens formed the non-profit grassroots organization WeLoveMillburn.com. The mission is to provide information on issues and encourage all residents to vote.

Even with the League of Women Voters in town encouraging get-out-the-vote for many years, our record is abysmal. The town voting record on school elections and referendums is even lower than our already low voting record for state and federal elections. Shame on us all.

As a well meaning, concerned citizen and resident of the Township, you cannot view these voting statistics below and not be concerned.

Let's look at our local voting record.

Notice the statistics for total households, population, registered voters and then finally actual voters on various issues during recent elections.

 Total households and total population of the township
2004
6,887 households in the total township
19,675 people living in the households

Registered voters in township according to County Clerk’s office
2004
13,548 registered voters
2005
 12,830 registered voters
 
Actual number of residents who voted in recent elections
2004
654 voted in the Primaries
10,319 voted in the General Election
2,759 voted in the School Election
2005
1,580 voted in the School Election
1,276 voted in the June primary
 

School Board and school spending election facts

  • Between 1979 and 2004, voter turnout ranged from a low of 529 to a high of 5,456.
  • The highest voter turnout ever for a school election was 5,456 in 1994 for a $36,800,000 Special School Expansion that was defeated.
  • The next highest turnout was in 2002 for Special Expansion at Elementary Schools for $18,010,000 that passed with 3,685 voters turning out.
  • The next highest turnout was in 1995 after the 1994 Expansion was turned down. This time the Elementary School Modified Expansion for $22,420,000 passed and only 3,445 voters turned out.
    Sources: Board of Education, The Item, County Clerk’s office, Voter Registration Clerk in Millburn Town Hall.

We have an important vote in December
that affects all residents.

You have just read local voting statistics. You realize that in spite of good intentions, our voting record is not stellar. In mid-December, we have an important town school bond referendum. The Board of Education has a proposed $42.3 million school bond referendum that all registered residents should be voting for or against.

This article, compiled and written by a new, non-profit, grassroots citizen's organization named WeLoveMillburn.com, is very much against the proposed bond referendum in its current form. The organization has asked the School Administration and the Board of Education for a backup plan and a closer look at alternatives, and that has not happened. All of these issues are discussed in detail on this website.

While WeLoveMillburn.com is openly declaring our point of view and asking residents to consider voting NO, we also ask all citizens regardless of how they feel, for or against, to go out and vote.

For reference purposes,
review the overall voting record of our country.

These figures are for national voter turnout in recent U.S. federal elections.

 
Voting-age pop.
Voter regist.
Voter turnout
% voting
2004
221,256,931
174,800,000
122,294,978
55.3%
2002
215,473,000
150,990,598
79,830,119
37.0%
2000
205,815,000
156,421,311
105,586,274
51.3%
1998
200,929,000
141,850,558
73,117,022
36.4%
NOTE: Presidential election years are in boldface.
Source: Federal Election Commission. Data drawn from Congressional Research Service reports, Election Data Services Inc., and State Election Offices.

The voting record of some countries of the world.

Here are the voting records of some selected countries from 1945 until 1998. Remember that in some countries voting is mandatory even if not always enforced. These figures below represent the percentage of the population of each country indicated that is old enough to vote who did in fact vote.

1st
Italy
92.5%
4th
Iceland
89.5%
8th
New Zealand
86.2%
18th
Sweden
83.3%
29th
Germany
80.6%
46th
Spain
77.0%
55th
UK
74.9%
75th
 Japan
69.0%
77th
Canada
68.4%
81st
France
67.3%
138th
Switzerland
49.3%
139th
United States
48.3%
Source: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Countries that have compulsory voting (not always enforced). Also women not allowed to vote in all of these countries during this entire period.

Let's improve our voting record.

The voting results on the currently proposed $42.3 million bond referendum will have more meaning with a large voter turnout. A small voter turnout, like we have experienced for many of the school elections in the past, is not good for either side.

We want you to Vote No and others want you to vote Yes. But one main point of this article is to remind you to be sure to vote on December 13th.

This report has been compiled and written by the Voter Turnout Task Force, which is part of the new, non-profit, grassroots, educational group, WeLoveMillburn.com. The mission, as we have stated on our website, is to help all the residents to be better informed about the issues that affect our community. We do this in a positive spirit of informing one another about what is happening, what is not happening and what is possible. We are all neighbors and this is our town.

WeLoveMillburn.com
October 10, 2005

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