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On Tuesday, just 11% of eligible voters in the City of Miami’s District 4 turned out to cast ballots in a special election. Let that sink in. Out of every 100 adults who could have helped decide their city’s future, 89% of voters stayed home. In a city battling corruption scandals, facing deepening housing and affordability crises, and watching basic services suffer, residents were handed a rare opportunity to use the most powerful tool in a democracy — their vote. And they chose not to.
Some will try to shift the blame. It was raining. The election wasn’t well publicized by the Department of Elections. They’ll point to a highly negative campaign, low media coverage, or uninspiring candidates. All of these criticisms are partially valid. Our civic institutions, local media failed to generate enough awareness, passion, or urgency. Also the winner was supported by a highly negative well-funded effort that may have turned a few people off. But this kind of chronic civic neglect is bigger than any one group. At some point, we must say out loud what many are afraid to admit: Miami’s District 4 residents themselves bear the lion’s share of responsibility for allowing dysfunction to thrive.
It is not too much to ask that adults set aside 20 minutes a couple of times a year to engage in a civic duty that shapes their community. Voting is not a heavy lift. Florida makes it relatively easy. Early voting, vote-by-mail, election day voting — all are available. Yet in a city where complaints about leadership are constant, most people didn’t bother to show up for a local election.
And so we return to the same headlines we’ve seen for years: City Hall corruption, self-dealing commissioners, shady deals, and neighborhoods left behind. Miami’s government didn’t become dysfunctional by accident. It became dysfunctional because the people of Miami let it be.
The problem with low-turnout elections is that they often get captured by special interests (Joe Carollo spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for the winner) or hyper-mobilized fringe voters (a small number of Republican vote-by-mail participants). That’s how unqualified, ethically compromised, or ideologically extreme candidates end up in power. When most people check out, the few who remain get to choose for everyone else. And in Miami, that dynamic has become tragically common.
This isn’t just about good governance. It’s about basic accountability. If voters don’t show up, then crooked officials have no reason to fear consequences. They know the outrage will be short-lived. They know the public won’t remember by the next election — or won’t vote even if they do. When only 11% of voters show up, there is no accountability. There is no pressure to deliver. There’s no democracy, really.
This is not a partisan issue. It’s a civic crisis. Whether you’re liberal or conservative, rich or poor, born here or an immigrant — if you live in Miami’s District 4 and didn’t vote on Tuesday, you gave away your voice. Worse, you gave your power to people who may not have your best interests at heart.
The truth is ugly, but necessary: In a democracy, people get the government they deserve. And right now, Miami is getting exactly that.
