Democracy Explainers

What are local or municipal elections?

Every year is an election year! Even when there aren’t national or statewide elections, local elections are taking place across the country. Local elections, often called municipal elections, refer to elections at the city or county level. These elections determine local officials, like mayors and clerks, and policies that affect daily life: housing, roads, law enforcement, schools, and other community services. 

What offices are elected locally?

In city and county elections, voters elect officials to a variety of positions. The positions on the ballot in a local election vary by location and the election itself. Similar to the federal government, local officials can be categorized by the branch they represent and serve in. Below are some examples:

Executive Branch 

• County Executive (County Mayor): A county executive (often referred to as a county mayor) is tasked with overseeing the county-wide budget and county services such as public health, infrastructure, and law enforcement.
• City Mayor: Similar to a county executive, the city mayor is the chief executive of a city or town, responsible for implementing city policies, managing city services, approving the city budget, and overseeing the local government’s daily operations.
• School Board Superintendent: A superintendent manages the local school district, ensuring that educational policies, budgets, and educational goals are implemented. Superintendents may be elected or appointed, depending on the state and local district.

Legislative Branch 

• City Council Members: City council members, sometimes called alderpersons, create and vote on local laws, ordinances, and policies, addressing issues like zoning, budgets, schools, local businesses, and community safety.
• County Commissioners: Similar to city council members, but at the county level, commissioners create laws and policies for issues that impact a larger geographic area like infrastructure, public health, and land use.
• School Board Members: School board members are elected to oversee a wide range of academic, legal, and financial issues. This may include developing the budget, hiring and evaluating the superintendent, setting achievement standards, influencing the curriculum, and addressing student discipline, attendance, and safety policies.

Judicial Branch 

• Judges: Judges may be elected or appointed. Judges oversee trials as well as interpret and apply the law in order to resolve disputes. In state or local courts, they make decisions on civil, criminal, and family matters.
• District Attorneys: District attorneys prosecute criminal cases on behalf of the government (“the people”). This can include investigating crimes, reviewing evidence, deciding whether to file charges against suspects, and representing the government in a prosecution.
• Court Clerks: Court clerks manage court records, filings, and schedules. They ensure the administrative functions of the court system run smoothly.
• Coroners: Coroners investigate deaths, particularly those occurring under suspicious or unusual circumstances, and determine causes of death.
• Sheriff: The sheriff is responsible for enforcing the law at the county level, overseeing county jails, and providing law enforcement services for rural or unincorporated areas.

Administrative 

• Treasurers: Treasurers manage the local government’s funds by overseeing budgets, investments, and financial plans.
• Comptroller: The comptroller audits and monitors government spending, ensuring that taxpayer money is spent responsibly and in compliance with all regulations.
• City and County Clerks: Clerks maintain public records, issue licenses (like marriage and business licenses), and often administer elections at the local level.
• Supervisor of Elections (Local Election Officials): The supervisor of elections manages local elections, oversees the voter registration process, monitors polling stations, and certifies election results.

What are ballot measures? 

Ballot measures are policies, issues, or questions that are placed on a state or local ballot for people to vote on directly. At the state level, these are typically referred to as constitutional amendments, while at the local level, they may be known as initiatives, referendums, charters, millages, or proposals. 

Ballot measures give voters a direct voice in how resources are allocated, what laws are enacted, and how local government functions. Measures can address a wide range of issues that affect our daily lives, including but not limited to schools, criminal justice, democracy, the economy, the environment, healthcare, social and civil rights, and taxation.

The Power of One Vote in Local Elections

Local elections offer unique opportunities for direct impact. While the 2024 Presidential Election drew over 150 million voters, local races like the 2024 Orange County, FL District 4 School Board Race had just 89,083 voters. This smaller scale means organized groups and engaged community members can more directly influence outcomes that affect daily life.

Local elections are frequently decided by razor-thin margins. In 2022, Connecticut’s House Representative for District 81 was decided by just one vote, and in 2020, Iowa’s House District 2 seat was won by just six votes. These narrow margins reveal something important: in local races, you and your neighbors have direct power to organize, mobilize, and change outcomes in ways that shape your community’s future.

This isn’t about your vote mattering more in local elections than in presidential races — every election matters. It’s about recognizing where you have the most direct power to organize and create change in your daily life.

What happens when young people don’t vote locally?

Voters 65 and older are 7 times more likely to cast a ballot in local elections than voters between the ages of 18 and 34. As a result, the average voter deciding what happens to your city is 57 years old. 

This matters because local elections determine issues that affect your daily life:

• Whether rent is affordable in your city
• If there’s reliable public transit to get to work or school
• What students learn in school
• Whether those who break the law are held accountable
• If there are jobs and opportunities where you live

Less than 20% of people actually vote in most local elections. That means a small group of people — who likely have different priorities than you — are making the decisions for your community.

When you vote in local elections, you aren’t just checking a box. You’re claiming a stake in the place you live. You’re making sure the people running your city actually work toward fulfilling the needs and representing the values of all its residents — including you!

How do local elections influence state and national politics?

Power building starts locally. If you want better candidates and policies at the state and national level, it starts with local elections. Many of the most significant policy changes in recent decades — minimum wage increases, green building codes, paid family leave, cannabis legalization, same-sex marriage recognition — began as local initiatives before expanding statewide and nationally.

The same dynamic applies to candidates. Local offices are where elected officials build their base, prove their viability, and earn party support for higher office. When someone wins a city council or school board seat, they gain the resources, name recognition, and political infrastructure to run for state legislature or Congress. This works in every direction: whether you’re supporting candidates who align with your values or opposing those who don’t, local races are where you build momentum for the changes you want to see or stop harmful agendas before they scale up.

Your vote in local elections doesn’t just affect your immediate community — it also shapes the pipeline of candidates and policies that will define state and national politics for years to come.

When are my local elections?

In many areas, local and state elections occur every year, but the timing can vary depending on where you live. That’s why it’s crucial to plan ahead and stay informed about important election dates. Sign up to receive alerts from Rock the Vote when there are elections in your area and check with your local election official for current details.

Published October 27, 2025.