In an editorial Dec. 5, the Sun Journal points out that referendum ballots are “notorious for low turnouts.” What term should be applied to Maine town meetings? If ballot questions typically draw only about 34 percent of eligible voters, how would one describe the less than 10 percent who typically show up for town meetings?

At a recent special town meeting in Buckfield, 11 citizens, including three selectmen and the town manager, voted. There are more than 1,200 registered voters.

The level of participation in Maine’s town meeting democracy is hardly in keeping with the state’s motto, “Dirigo.” Can one ascribe low voter participation simply to low interest in local affairs? Or are voters discouraged by the many hours, often on a workday evening, needed to discuss dozens of articles on a warrant?

Do voters feel that they cannot cope with a long, complicated warrant that is posted in only a few sites, just one week before town meeting? Could disabilities that prevent numerous citizens from attending the open meeting, together with the lack of an absentee ballot that could be voted at home, discourage voters, generally? Do some voters sense that the outcomes of important votes are forgone conclusions? Or is it a combination of some or all of those?

Voter participation in referenda is poor and needs improvement, as the Sun Journal says, but town meeting participation is dismal in comparison.

Judith Berg, Buckfield