VIDEO: Low Voter Turnout

STARKVILLE, Miss.(WCBI)—The old saying goes: “all politics is local” it doesn’t get much more local than city elections, but voter turnout in yesterday’s municipal primaries is being called shockingly low.

For many starting in elementary school on to college, the importance of voting is always highlighted.

” Municipal elections are incredibly important and actually often overlooked. You’re talking about the day to day lives for people. That’s not to say that state and federal elections aren’t impacting people. The turn around in these municipal elections is a matter of weeks, months. The minute these individuals are placed in office they can impact our lives immediately,”said MSU Stennis Institute Executive Director Dallas Breen.

According to Heavy.com, In the 2016 presidential election, an estimated 57 percent of eligible voters cast their ballot.

Dallas Breen with the MSU Stennis Institute says it may seem more important to vote national when there are so many flashing lights.

” The glamour factor isn’t there in a municipal elections. Most people, I would guess, know that November is the time for the presidential elections. People see these big adds and money spent on presidential elections. So people think, “I have to go vote.” Municipal elections, the primary elections, are held at awkward times. Elections are held at different times and so people aren’t necessarily counting the days until,”said Breen.

Lance Thompson is a registered voter. He says he steers clear of the local election.

“Previous voting terms, I honestly felt like they were rigged and it wouldn’t matter who I voted for. They were going to put in whoever they wanted in,”said Thompson.

However the only way to impact change in your area, is to speak up.

“As a citizen we have a lot of things that we want, a lot of things that we want to accomplish and our voice is basically our leaders. I think if we get out and we have an opportunity to exercise our right to vote that is also having you’re voice heard,”said voter Saunders Ramsey.

West Point continues the downward trend in voter turn out. The voter turn out is down 1,000 people from the 2013 elections.