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Ever think your vote doesn性视界传媒檛 count? Candidates and political experts say the May 4 city and school elections in East Texas prove otherwise.

Twelve races in Gregg, Upshur, Harrison, Rusk and Titus counties were decided by fewer than 50 votes.

In Longview, the District 5 City Council race was decided by 10 votes, making it the second most closely decided council election in Longview in the past 50 years.

In Kilgore, Mayor Ronnie Spradlin was reelected by 18 votes. In Mount Pleasant, city officials were set to conduct a recount Friday for a council race that was decided聽性视界传媒� for now聽性视界传媒� by a single vote.

While voter turnout is often low in Texas性视界传媒� local elections, those rates also mean fewer people are deciding who will lead the governmental bodies that oversee street repairs, tax rates, public safety and more.

The narrow margins between victors and losers also raise questions of how a winning candidate will work with his or her opponent性视界传媒檚 supporters as their representative.

"What's coming up in the next few years is going to be very disruptive for local governments, and the people who are in charge of those local governments are going to have a challenging time," said Joshua Blank, research director of the Texas Politics Project, a political polling outfit. "Even though these elections are low turnout, it doesn't mean that they're not consequential because what lies around the corner is likely a lot of work for those elected officials.性视界传媒�

Hair-splitting votes

Texas性视界传媒� historically low turnout in local elections was on full display May 4, and in East Texas, a few voters性视界传媒� decisions to cast a ballot rather than enjoy a Saturday at home made all the difference in who won and lost.

In the Longview District 5 City Council race, incumbent Michelle Gamboa received 417 votes while challenger Jody Berryhill received 427.

The only council election in Longview that was decided by a fewer number of votes in the past 50 years was in 2002 when Karen Hailey and Bill Parrymore vied for the District 1 seat on the council during a special election. Hailey received 257 votes聽性视界传媒� four more than Parrymore, according to election data compiled by City Secretary Angie Shepard.

In Big Sandy, two at-large City Council seats were up for grabs, and four candidates were on the ballot. Top vote-getter Rex Rozell was reelected with 55 votes, and Sally Allen was reelected with 52 votes. Vanessa (Kenya) Ervin barely lost: She had 51 votes. The fourth candidate, Collette M. Stec, had 23.

In northeastern Gregg County, 109 voters opted to raise the sales tax rate 1.5% in Emergency Services District No. 3 to provide additional funding to the Judson Fire Department, and 102 voters cast ballots against the measure.

In Mount Pleasant, the outcome of the race for the Place 1 seat on the council wasn't set to be finalized until at least Friday. Incumbent Debbie Corbell garnered 464 votes, one vote more than her opponent, Trey Baker. The county's elections administrator said at least two ballots were likely to be thrown out.

"This election is a great example of every vote really does matter, and one vote can make the difference,性视界传媒� said Kate Yglesias, a professor of government at Kilgore College.

Why turnout is low

The number of votes cast in the Longview District 5 race聽性视界传媒� 844 性视界传媒� represents about 9.6% of the 8,743 registered voters in the district, according to Gregg County Elections Administrator Jennifer Briggs. That percentage is on par with turnout rates in other municipalities and races.

Voter turnout tends to be low during municipal elections for a few reasons.

Campaigns for local government offices generally spend less on advertising and other outreach efforts, meaning there性视界传媒檚 less information finding its way to voters, Yglesias said. Local elections also don性视界传媒檛 get the same level of news coverage as a state or national election.

The frequency and timing of elections play a role, too. American voters are well aware that presidential elections take place on the first Tuesday in November, but Texas municipal elections can take place on Saturdays in the spring. Many voters aren性视界传媒檛 accustomed to heading to the polls then, said.

"It requires either people to increase their attention or it means that only the people who are paying the very, very most attention will turn out and vote," said.

Increasing voter turnout is a topic Texas lawmakers are exploring. The Texas Senate has approved a bill by Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, that would move Texas municipal elections to Tuesdays in November, which would coincide with partisan general elections, The Dallas Morning News reported. The elections could take place in odd or even years. May elections would be a thing of the past except for runoffs and emergencies.

Big Sandy Mayor Linda Baggett, who was reelected May 4, garnered 86 votes compared with opponent Esther Jackson性视界传媒檚 20 votes. Big Sandy has a population of more than 1,300, and Baggett said she was heartbroken by the low voter turnout.

性视界传媒淲e've got a lot of registered voters, and it takes you five minutes,性视界传媒� she said.

性视界传媒楾hat one little vote性视界传媒�

The fact that a handful of votes swayed the outcome of the May 4 elections proves a point Yglesias has long been aware of: 性视界传媒淧otholes can really determine an election,性视界传媒� she said.

City councils and school boards are among the most involved governing bodies in a resident's life. They determine how much residents will pay in taxes each year and how that money will be spent. City council members set the agenda for public infrastructure improvement, and when residents aren性视界传媒檛 pleased with the state of roads and public facilities, candidates can feel their wrath at the ballot box.

Infrastructure was a central issue in the District 5 race. Berryhill criticized the state of the city性视界传媒檚 streets, while Gamboa highlighted her work to improve roads in her district. Gamboa voted against spending $6.5 million to build a new public pool at Stamper Park, while Berryhill said Gamboa should have gone along with the project.

Determining what causes voters to favor one candidate over another is challenging in elections with low turnout, said. The weightiest factor could be a candidate性视界传媒檚 ability to connect to voters.

"In an election like this, it's more about the strengths of your networks than the strength of your messaging聽性视界传媒� or even, in some ways, your positions,性视界传媒� said Blank with the Texas Politics Project.

In Mount Pleasant, Corbell attributes her victory, as long as it survives Friday性视界传媒檚 recount, to a couple of voters. She knows of one woman who helped a friend of hers get to the polls 性视界传媒渂ecause she cared enough to do it,性视界传媒� she said.

"One man told me, 'Well, I've already voted in early voting, but I couldn't get my wife to take off work and go vote, so I brought her down here Saturday,'" Corbell said. "There's that one little vote that made all the difference.性视界传媒�