School budget proposals draws low voter turnout in Bannock County

People are voting Tuesday on school budget proposals for many counties across our region. However, voter turnout has been low for several years now.

Precincts 35, 36 and 37 at the Red Lion Hotel is just one of the many polling places in the county. During the morning there were only a few dozen people who came in and cast their ballot.
Election officials are expecting about a 2 percent increase from 2017, but that was only about 3,000 people out of 36,000 who were eligible.

“In our eyes, every election is important,” Julie Hancock, elections director of Bannock County, said. “But when we’re not dealing with state-level candidates or legislators, or county-level candidates, the elections tend to be a little smaller.”

Elections officials say that they received more than 100 early votes than in 2017. However, it is still considerably low. It is possible that the low turnout is due to only one issue being voted on; that, of course, being the supplemental levy renewal for District 25.

The average age of residents in Pocatello is 51 years old. Therefore, most members of the community do not have children in school. The community will face no additional financial burden by this levy, making some believe that it’s not a high priority for voters.