Typically, this number is only modestly larger than Ally McBeal's dress size. In Duxbury last week, the town clerk had to photocopy blank ballots by the end of election day because she didn't order enough printed ones. The 13 percent turnout was more than anticipated. Must have something to do with networking. But the local votes are important.
Town hall is the closest government outpost to our wallets.
So you'd think more taxpayers would pay attention to local elections and other governmental matters that affect them directly. People all over town were riveted to CNN as missles were launched against distant Kosovo. A global crisis can be broken into digestible information snacks. It's so far away that the action plays out like one more TV show. Local issues don't involve bombs, unless you count the occasional tax bill bombshell.