Debunking ‘Baker vote’ myth
Our View Editorial
We’ve heard references to the “Baker University vote” over the years, but not quite like this past year when Baldwin City voters approved the $22.9 million bond issue for the Baldwin School District.
The measure passed by a slim margin, 2,087-1,775, and opponents of the bond issue have been quick to blame the “Baker vote” for its passage. It’s always easy to blame something on someone else.
But in this case, it just doesn’t hold water.
Voting data from the Baldwin City precincts was examined last week to see just how many Baker students voted in November. That was done by looking at addresses and names to determine locations and people who were Baker students.
The list totaled 182 names that were verified. The bond issue passed by 312 votes. Even if all 182 of those Baker students voted “yes” on the bond issue and those votes were thrown out, the measure still passes.
Although we’re not surprised by that, we’re glad to be able to know that it wasn’t the “Baker vote” that made the difference. We’ve always held the view that while Baker is always a factor, it doesn’t determine an election’s outcome.
Why did only 182 out of more than 900 Baker students vote here? It may look like a poor turnout, but it’s more likely because the vast majority of those students voted in their hometowns, either personally or by absentee ballot.
Why would that be when that election was supposedly the “coming out” of the younger vote because of the race for president? Easy. If those out-of-state voters wanted their vote to count in putting Barack Obama in the White House, they certainly wouldn’t vote in Republican-dominated Kansas. In-state students obviously had more interest in the races from their areas.
Of course, the review of the ballot data can’t reveal how those students voted or even if they went further down the ballot after checking off Obama. There have been claims made that students were urged at various gatherings to “vote yes” on the bond issue. We don’t know how much of that went on, if any, but we also know a thing or two about young adults. Tell them to do one thing and they’ll likely do the opposite. We don’t know if that’s the case here, but it could be. And it doesn’t matter too much since only 182 of them voted anyway.
For those who need more convincing, do you recall the spring election for mayor and city council where mayoral candidate George McCrary predicted victory for him because he was going to take the “Baker vote” and even appointed a Baker student as his campaign manager?
Result: Ken Wagner 422 votes, McCrary 231.