August 22, 2025
By getting involved in our democracy at the local level, you can sometimes make more of a difference! Learn how you can make a direct impact today.
Did you know that local politics can often have more of a direct impact on your day-to-day routine? From road repairs, schools, and urban planning to immigration and policing, local government is a constant presence in your everyday life.
Nonetheless, local elections usually have notoriously low turnout. And in 2024, nearly 70% of local elections were uncontested.
However, with smaller turnouts, your vote tends to carry more weight! You have greater say on where your tax dollars go and what policies should be prioritized.
At a local level, your elected officials are also more accessible than national leaders. And with local elections happening as often as every year, this close connection puts you in a unique position to effectively participate in our democracy and effect change that you can actually see.
America has 19,000 cities, towns, and villages with different governmental structures. But they all elect officials to carry out 3 government functions: Executive, Legislative and Legal.
Typical local offices include Mayors, City Councils, County Commissioners, School Boards, and several others.
New American Leaders know the power of local impact! Of the 1,990 alumni who have gone through our training program, nearly 50% have expressed interest in running for a local position.
Showing up for our democracy means showing up where we can and the best way to do that is at the local level!