For Want of a Vote . . .

Fifty-seven voters forced Julie Korenstein, The Times’ choice for reelection to the Los Angeles Board of Education, into a runoff in the general election in June. Although nearly 70,000 voters marked ballots on April 11, a handful of votes denied Korenstein the majority she needed for outright victory. The results ought to persuade Californians everywhere that it matters a great deal whether they go to the polls.

Nearly 305,000 voters were eligible to vote in the Korenstein election, but something less than 25% actually did so. Maybe the non-voters didn’t care about the quality of instruction in the public schools or how much the teachers will get paid, the current controversies before the board.

Unfortunately, the low voter turnout shouldn’t be all that surprising. It is part of a national trend.

Last year’s presidential election attracted only half of the nation’s eligible voters, according to the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate, based in Washington, D.C. The voter turnout dropped in 48 states last November. California’s turnout was a dismal 44.1%; only four states and the District of Columbia made a poorer showing. Many voters stayed home, according to experts at the research group, because they disliked both candidates, but making the best of a poor choice is often what voting is all about. In Los Angeles, the recent mayoral election drew barely 23% of the registered voters as Mayor Tom Bradley narrowly won an unprecedented fifth term on April 11. That was the worst turnout in more than three decades despite pervasive concerns about crime, traffic, growth and other challenges facing the city.

Voter apathy must be contagious. Municipal elections in Orange County have drawn similarly low percentages. The turnout hit 23.5% in the elections last year in Los Alamitos, 25.9% in Fountain Valley and 22% in San Juan Capistrano, which hold elections again next month.

Non-voters can always come up with a reason for not going to the polls. They are too busy, too tired, overworked, too indifferent or too smug to mail in a ballot or go into the voting booth. Those who believe their vote doesn’t count should take a hard look at Korenstein’s experience.

On the day after the election, Korenstein held--although barely--the majority she needed to keep her seat on the school board. After the absentee ballots were counted, Korenstein fell a few votes short. If another 57 supporters of Korenstein had gone to the polls in April, there would be no need for a runoff on June 6, persuasive evidence that every vote really does matter.