Brickbats for voters who sat out Paso Robles groundwater election

We’re not sure if the stunningly low turnout for the Paso Robles groundwater district election is a sign of voter apathy or voter confusion. Either way, it’s a huge disappointment, and we have a ballot box of brickbats for those who sat out the election.

This was a high-stakes issue, yet only 51 percent of property owners voted on the question of district formation, and only 47 percent of registered voters cast ballots on the tax measure that would have funded district operations.

Those who did bother to cast ballots overwhelmingly defeated both measures, which opponents are pointing to as proof that residents don’t want another layer of government controlling them.

That may be, yet we would have had more faith in the outcome if at least 75 percent of voters had weighed in. Instead, only half of eligible voters made the decision for a groundwater basin that’s in serious trouble.

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Brickbats for voters who sat out Paso Robles groundwater election."