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Election Day is less than two months away—but one key race won’t be on most ballots. They’re school board elections, and that’s a big problem for families nationwide.
In 37 states, school board elections aren’t held in conjunction with statewide or national elections. Because voter turnout at other times of year is lower, this strange system was designed to benefit special interests. That’s especially concerning at a time when Parents are demanding more control over their kids’ education. These critical elections should be moved to coincide with regular elections days in order to ensure democracy and accountability.
If you’re wondering when your school board elections are, chances are it’s when you least expect it. That’s why, in state after state, hardly anyone shows up to vote.
Missouri is a good example. New research by our organization shows that just 14 percent of voters attended recent school board elections in the largest 15 school districts. That’s compared to 77 percent turnout in the 2020 general election. It’s a similar story in neighboring Illinois, where 15 percent of voters turned out for school board elections, whereas 73 percent showed up to vote for president. Similar trends have been observed from Wisconsin, Pennsylvania to Idaho and Montana among others.
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While voters may not be mobilized but others are. When parents don’t turn out, they often end up with school board members who don’t reflect their values. Worse, the election winners are more likely to be special interests who don’t fight for students’ needs.
There’s strong evidence that interest groups deliberately pushed for the current system. Why? Because they knew that a lower turnout would prove to be a benefit. University of California-Berkeley scholar Sarah Anzia has shown how early progressives sought to effectively disenfranchise voters who didn’t share their views by moving local elections off cycle. They wanted to prevent low-income and immigrant voters from voting.
A hundred years later, teachers’ unions are making the most of this unfair and borderline undemocratic system. Because they face fewer obstacles to victory, union-backed candidates win around 70% of the competitive school board races.
It is possible to reduce that edge by making hot-button topics central to elections. Some states have done this with critical race theory. Parents have more reason to vote when they fear their children aren’t learning the fundamentals of education, such as reading, writing, and math. But, long-term, it is possible to reduce the power and ensure representative election by increasing the turnout. It is necessary to link school board elections to statewide election.
A few states have shown that it is possible to switch and that this can be beneficial for democracy. Texas changed its 2006 law to allow for a fifth of all school board elections to be held the same day as national elections. What did the result look like? The Lone Star State has increased turnout and diminished teachers’ union power.
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Florida is another example of a state that has successfully held school board elections. It holds them along with statewide races, as well as primaries for national office like the U.S. Senate. This resulted in a much higher turnout than the off-cycle elections held elsewhere. Conservatives won at most 20 of 30 races, while several more went to the runoffs. No fewer that five school boards were flipped from liberal-liberal to conservative, with the largest number occurring in heavily populated areas like Sarasota, Miami Dade and Duval counties. Jacksonville is included in Duval County. Because turnout was greater, the elections better reflected the will and aspirations of the people.
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The example should be followed by other states. The timing of an electoral election is the most important predictor of voter turnout. States should encourage as many voters as possible to go to the polls. State governments should make sure that school board elections are held on the same day and date as other statewide races like Florida. It would be even more beneficial if they occurred on the main election day of a given year. That’s when Florida’s school board runoff elections will happen this year.
The most important electionsIt should be held on election days that are most obvious. This would result in a higher turnout, less manipulation of special interests and greater trust in the election results. That’s worth remembering when you show up this November only to find you can’t vote in one of the races that most affects your family.
Tarren Bragdon, CEO of the Florida-based Foundation for Government Accountability.
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