Professor McDaniel Discusses Importance of Local Elections

EL TECOLOTE (SAN FRANCISCO) -- Jason McDaniel, an associate professor of Political Science at San Francisco State University, studies local elections. His research shows San Francisco is a high participation city, with 50 - 80 percent voter participation in midterm and presidential elections. The national average for voter participation is 20 - 25 percent of registered voters. However, despite the importance of local elections, voter turnout in San Francisco for local elections is lower, at 35 - 55 percent of registered voters. His research also shows the electorate in San Francisco, and especially around the country, is disproportionately white and older than that of the general population. “I often talk about [local elections] as being the foundation of democracy, in specific,” said McDaniel. “I think they are an essential pathway to achieving greater equality, especially for underrepresented communities in our country, regionally and locally and around the world of course.”