CHESHIRE — Town Clerk Whitney Flynn knows that even when there are no contested races in the annual town election, voting matters.

In 2024, Flynn was elected town clerk as a write-in candidate, receiving 55 votes, despite not campaigning for the job.

This year, with no contested races in Cheshire, Flynn is leading the charge to increase voter turnout for the annual town election on Monday.

“We pay the same amount to have an election regardless of how many people show up,” Flynn said. “The more people that show up, the more accurate we can see what the town wants.”

Flynn, along with a group of roughly six people, has started a Vote Today Sign Campaign to increase turnout at the annual town election. The effort has produced positive signs to spread the word about the election, a film screening and a sense of community, she said.

Cheshire is among several Berkshire County towns facing low turnout in uncontested elections and at annual town meetings — a recurring challenge for local officials.

About 36 signs, which have been created for residents to put on their lawns on voting day, sit in the entrance to the Cheshire Community Center. “It would be wonderful to condition them to show up for the local [election] because that’s where your vote has more weight,” Town Clerk Whitney Flynn said.

Across the county, towns are experimenting with ways to increase participation, from awareness campaigns and clearer communication about meeting times to offering free child care.

Believed to be the oldest form of democracy in the United States, town meetings are held to approve a municipal budget for the upcoming fiscal year and decide additional articles that involve projects, funding allocations and bylaws among others, according to the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

In Dalton, Town Clerk Heather Hunt wrote in an email to The Eagle on Wednesday that she is expecting voter turnout to be on the low side this year with no contested races, which she said typically doesn’t bring in the voters “as we would like.”

Last year, out of the town’s approximately 5,000 registered voters, 1,084 cast ballots — a turnout of about 21.7 percent.

Hunt said it was “the biggest turnout for both the annual town meeting and election” she has seen in her four years in the position.

“Last year’s numbers were unprecedented and were due to some pretty contentious topics,” Hunt said, adding that she does not expect that turnout again at the annual election May 11.

As part of Cheshire's efforts to turn out the vote, Flynn said that a few residents presented the idea of having a Vote Today Sign Campaign, donating 50 blank signs for people to decorate and put on their lawns.

“I find this very beautiful, especially in this politically divided time in our nation,” Town Clerk Whitney Flynn said. “I hope these signs make people smile as they pass through town.”

As of Wednesday, 40 signs had been taken, she said. Messages on signs include “Choose your future,” “Vote today” and “Use your voice” among others.

“I find this very beautiful, especially in this politically divided time in our nation,” Flynn said. “I hope these signs make people smile as they pass through town.”

Flynn said that Cheshire typically sees a 3 to 5 percent turnout for its annual town elections and that last year, 128 people voted out of 2,387 registered voters.

Cheshire Town Clerk Whitney Flynn wears a vote pin and a yellow rose pin for women's suffrage. Cheshire is among many local towns with no contested races in the annual town elections this year.

“It’s the same people who you always see showing up to the polls,” she said, adding that for this year's election, there are 2,582 registered voters.

The town also screened the film “Iron Jawed Angels” at the Cheshire Council on Aging earlier this month to highlight the importance of voting. “Iron Jawed Angels,” released in 2004, focuses on the fight for women to secure voting rights in the 1910s.

“The overall feeling and eminence was so profound for the people in attendance," Flynn said, adding that since the screening, two women have come into her office saying they want to be more involved in the town.

Decorations from the Hoosac Hose Co.'s 125th annual Fire Department ball will remain through election day on Monday in Cheshire. These colorful sashes hanging from the ceiling of the center's cafeteria will be where the voting booths are located.

Cheshire resident Irene Bator, who is part of the voting campaign group of volunteers, said it’s important for people to come together.

“If we care about democracy, we have a responsibility [to vote],” she said.

In an effort to increase voter participation, Great Barrington is offering child care for children ages 3 to 8 at its annual town meeting on Saturday.

“This is about making Town Meeting more accessible and inclusive for families,” Town Manager Liz Hartsgrove said in a press release. “We want to reduce barriers to participation and support residents in being part of important community decisions.”

Flynn said that decreasing voter turnout and interest in town meetings and elections is the hard reality facing small towns.

“It would be wonderful to condition them to show up for the local [election] because that’s where your vote has more weight,” she said.