Once again, voter turnout in an off-year election was pathetic.

It’s not that we thought turnout for Tuesday’s local elections would reach presidential election levels. We didn’t. Frankly low voter turnout is the expected norm these days, and Tuesday’s voter turnout met that low bar. According to the Chautauqua County Board of Elections, roughly 28% of the county’s registered voters actually cast ballots for last week’s city, town and village elections compared to the usual off-year turnout in the mid 30% range.

“We really don’t know. The weather was decent. There were two newbies coming in Dunkirk for the mayor’s spot which should have buzzed people. In Jamestown there were a lot of races there. We can’t really say (why there’s poor turnout),” Brian Abrams, county Republican election commissioner, told The Post-Journal last week.

It’s not as if the state hasn’t tried to make voting easier over the years. Early voting is available for 10 days before an election, including two weekends, at multiple sites in Chautauqua County. Democrats have proposed mail-in voting in the past, including this year’s attempt to circumvent a state constitutional prohibition on mail-in voting.

We disagreed with a push earlier this year to move local elections to presidential election years. We didn’t think it would save money, which it won’t, and we feared local issues would take a back seat to races for the presidency and Congress. We still hold those reservations. As much as we wish turnout was higher, we’re not sure simply changing the election calendar is a great fix.

If there is one silver lining in this year’s lower-than-expected voter turnout, it is that those casting ballots are those who are engaged with local elected politics. They are the voters who follow the issues, engage with the candidates and make an informed decision. We thank those citizens for exercising their right to vote last week – and wish there were more of you who took the time to understand the importance of local issues.