FRONT ROYAL, VA - If you live in Front Royal, you may soon be voting at a different time for the town council elections.
A year and a half ago, the town council allowed citizens to take a survey and one of the questions was, "Should elections be held in May or November?"
The majority replied November and that is the answer town leaders were hoping for, but it's going to take a lot of work and time to make that change.
"Whenever you switch from a May election to a November election or vice-versa, somebody is going to lose or gain some of their term. In other words, shortened term or lengthened," said Town Attorney, Douglas Napier.
The area has had a history of low voter turnout and they are hoping a new election date will improve that.
"Traditionally, there's more elections in November and it's thought that if people are going to go out and vote in November anyway, they may be more likely to vote in November for town council," adds Napier.
With the presidential election coming up, council members believe this change may overshadow contests for the town council.
"It would also be important for the town to make sure that our citizens are made aware of our elections so that they can focus not only on either the national or state level elections that would be going on but focus again on local elections," says Town Manager, Steve Burke.
If the election month is changed, people who are currently in office will serve an additional six months.
The decision on whether this change can be implemented will be discussed at the next town council meeting on October 9th.
A year and a half ago, the town council allowed citizens to take a survey and one of the questions was, "Should elections be held in May or November?"
The majority replied November and that is the answer town leaders were hoping for, but it's going to take a lot of work and time to make that change.
"Whenever you switch from a May election to a November election or vice-versa, somebody is going to lose or gain some of their term. In other words, shortened term or lengthened," said Town Attorney, Douglas Napier.
The area has had a history of low voter turnout and they are hoping a new election date will improve that.
"Traditionally, there's more elections in November and it's thought that if people are going to go out and vote in November anyway, they may be more likely to vote in November for town council," adds Napier.
With the presidential election coming up, council members believe this change may overshadow contests for the town council.
"It would also be important for the town to make sure that our citizens are made aware of our elections so that they can focus not only on either the national or state level elections that would be going on but focus again on local elections," says Town Manager, Steve Burke.
If the election month is changed, people who are currently in office will serve an additional six months.
The decision on whether this change can be implemented will be discussed at the next town council meeting on October 9th.
