SWAMPSCOTT — The Town Election Review Committee is encouraging community members to take a survey in order to better understand how residents participate in local elections.
Residents will have the opportunity to voice their opinions and share insight with the Committee about their voting habits until the window for public feedback closes on Oct. 15.
Committee Vice Chair Shayne Spaulding explained that the Committee has been working over the past eight months to explore strategies for increasing turnout in local elections.
“We really wanted to hear from the town about barriers residents may face in being able to vote, what type of ways we can help them get educated on the issues and help them get to the polls… But also, any ideas they might have for ways we can improve accessibility for the community,” Spaulding said.
Spaulding continued, noting that the survey aims to analyze voting habits from residents regarding Town elections, though there are also questions about state and federal elections included as well. There will also be questions geared toward community members who choose not to vote in local elections.
The survey features questions such as: “What best describes your voting habits for Town elections?” and “When deciding not to vote, what influences you the most?”
Once the period for communal feedback has ended, the Committee will convene and analyze the results and discuss the input. Spaulding noted that the Committee is also interested in looking into the open response segment of the survey, where residents will be able to express ideas to address the barriers that Swampscott voters may face.
“We are hopeful that people will both answer the multiple choice questions and also provide some insight in their own words,” Spaulding said.
She noted that the Committee intends to wrap up its work in November and present its recommendations to the Select Board on possible actions or ideas to consider.
“We’re really enjoying the work. It’s such an important issue, and the members have been great at representing every side of the community… The Committee really appreciates people providing feedback,” she said.
Committee member Lauren Shrestha noted that the Committee has received 100 responses so far, with more incoming.
Shrestha said, “Voting is so important, as it allows the public to actively shape their community.”
She added, “Swampscott currently has low Town election turnout, and we, on the Election Review Committee, want to know why — and the areas that we as a Town can change so that more of our community comes out to vote. We’ve worked hard to get the survey into as many residents’ hands as possible.”
For those who are interested in contributing to the conversation, the survey can be found at: swampscottma.gov/home/news/election-review-committee-survey.
