We all remember the hubbub surrounding the 2020 national election. But easier to miss are upcoming “off-cycle” elections for local leaders—council members, mayors, sheriffs. Often fewer than 25 percent of eligible voters turn out for these elections. But, according to research by BYU political-science professor Adam M. Dynes (BA ’05), that pattern has consequences: making local governments less responsive to majority preferences. In local politics “your individual actions can have the greatest influence,” says Dynes.
