Only about 1 in 5 registered voters cast ballots in Tulsa's six contested City Council races on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

The 21.2% turnout figure, reported by the Tulsa World, continues a pattern of low participation in the city's municipal elections. The result means roughly four out of every five eligible voters in districts with races stayed home while decisions about who governs them were made.

The gap between precincts was stark. Near 31st and Harvard in midtown's District 9, in-person turnout hit 37%, the highest single-precinct rate in the city, according to the Tulsa Flyer. In southwest Tulsa's District 2, where incumbent Anthony Archie won a second term, the Tulsa Flyer reported some of the lowest turnout of the night.

At the Lacy Park Community Center precinct in District 1, just 170 voters showed up in person for the council race. That's 15.2% turnout.

Ora Lee Williams, a District 1 voter at that precinct, told the Tulsa Flyer on Election Day: "All of us should vote. Voting means equality for everybody. If you don't vote, you don't have no say."

District 9 drew the most ballots citywide with 9,218 votes cast across a three-person race. The seat was the only open council race after Carol Bush decided not to seek re-election. Pete Regan won over Ben Johnson and Shawn Tiemann.

In District 7, Lori Decter Wright won re-election with 57% of the vote on 4,798 ballots cast, according to the Tulsa Flyer's District 7 coverage. Runner-up Dave Perry, who took 36%, said afterward that he "just didn't get the expected turnout" at the polls.

The low turnout was not unique to council races. Statewide, the two ballot questions that appeared before every registered voter drew about 22% participation. In June, a state question on minimum wage brought 26% to the polls. Tulsa's own participation dropped from 101,246 votes on the June question to 89,353 on the August voter ID measure.

As we reported Aug. 26, four incumbents held their seats and District 1 heads to a runoff. Vanessa Hall-Harper won 45.84% and Corinice Wilson took 36.66%, according to KRMG. Their runoff is set for Nov. 3.

Eric Miller, a Tulsa County voter, told KTUL on Election Day that local races deserve more attention. He said city council members "have a lot of impact on our daily lives" and that even small elections "have people that are making very important decisions for us."

The District 1 runoff between Hall-Harper and Wilson is the next council election on the calendar.