Sheldon, Iowa — Sheldon had a relatively high voter turnout in Tuesday’s special election, when approximately 28.2% of the City’s registered voters cast their ballots.
We were curious to see how that compares to voter turnout in other recent Sheldon elections. According to figures from the O’Brien County Auditor’s Office, this week’s 28.2% voter turnout is impressive, but it’s not the highest voter turnout Sheldon has seen in the past decade. The highest voter turnout was in 2013 when 28.8% of Sheldon voters cast their ballots. The higher voter turnout in that election year was due, in large part, to the size of the field running that year. There were four individuals seeking the Sheldon Mayor’s position, two people running for Council At-Large, and three seeking the 2nd Ward seat.
In the November 3, 2009 election, two individuals, Ron Rensink and Tricia Meendering, were seeking the Mayor’s office. That election found 26.7% of Sheldon voters casting ballots.
In the 2015 election, while there were no contested races for City Council, voters were given the opportunity to vote up or down on a proposed 2% increase in the City’s Hotel/Motel Tax. In case you’re wondering, that measure passed with 76.6% of voters saying yes. Voter turnout for that election was 21.18%.
In 2011 there were two contested City Council seats up for grabs, with Greg Geels and Mark Postma seeking the At-Large seat, while Lori Letner and Ron Rensink both sought the 1st Ward seat. In Ward 3, Brad Hindt was unopposed in 2011. Voter turnout that year was 20.5%.
The election in the past 10 years that saw the lowest Sheldon voter turnout was in 2017 when the voters yawned and stayed away from the polls in droves. One council seat, the 2nd Ward position had no name on the ballot, and was claimed by a write-in candidate who got 4 write-in votes. Also in 2017 Tricia Meendering was running unopposed for Mayor, and Tom Eggers was running unopposed for an At-Large council seat. Just 11.02% of Sheldon voters showed up at the polls for the 2017 election.
As we’ve seen, over the past 10 years the most contentious elections drew the most voters, and this year’s Special Election, which was forced after voters presented a petition demanding a voice in the selection of their new Mayor, was no exception to that rule.
