Seaford needs to increase very poor municipal elections’ voter turnout. As previously emphasized, thanks to the actions of the mayor and City Council, the number of registered voters for Seaford elections jumped dramatically by approximately 3,500 from 2020 to 2022.
However, the increased number of registered voters did not result in more voters. Only about 600 voters showed up for both elections.
There were 594 voters who determined the outcome of the 2020 election for mayor, with the winner garnering 47 votes more than his opponent. For some, especially those retaining power, the 2020 municipal election was likely deemed a “success.”
However, when such “success” is measured against the number of citizens who could/should have been eligible to vote if the Delaware registration system had been in use, the 2020 election was a virtual disaster. Only a pitiful 11.9% of the approximately 5,000 potentially eligible to vote in Seaford went to the polls in May 2020.
In stark contrast, in the November 2020 statewide voting, 68.86% of 739,570 registered voters in Delaware voted in the state and federal elections.
One does not need to be a mathematical genius to understand the significance of the 68.86% of eligible voters statewide who voted versus the 11.9% of Seaford voters who voted.
There could have been a 577% or nearly sixfold increase in voter turnout for Seaford municipal candidates if voting had taken place during the statewide federal/state elections.
Therefore, not only would moving our municipal elections to the November state/federal election date eliminate known conflict with holidays, it would likely triple, quadruple (or more) Seaford voter turnout, based on historically verifiable voting patterns.
This year, the Delaware General Assembly unanimously passed a law which mandates “that meetings of public bodies … must provide an opportunity for public comment.”
To date during public comment, mayor and City Council have been asked to implement several proposals, including moving municipal elections to the November state/federal election date.
I strongly encourage all citizens of Seaford to bring their opinions and concerns into the forum of public comment for the betterment of our city, yet there is a lingering question: When will any of these proposals be considered?
Dan Cannon
Seaford
