On Nov. 3, San Francisco voters will go out to the polling booths to choose their city attorney and treasurer, as well as vote on five local ballot measures in the municipal election.

Or at least, that's the hope. Turnouts for municipal elections and off-year elections generally prove to be rather grim. The state of mind seems to be: If it's not a presidential or congressional election, forget about it.

That shouldn't be the case because when the issues are about us, we should take more action on it.

In 2003, San Francisco's municipal run-off election between Gavin Newsom and Matt Gonzalez brought a voting turnout of 54 percent. In the 2007 municipal election, the turnout dropped down to 35 percent. But compare that to San Francisco's 81 percent voting turnout for the 2008 presidential election, which was a staggering jump.

To Richard DeLeon, a retired SF State political science professor, a 35 percent turnout in a non-presidential and non-congressional election year is actually "terrifically high" compared to other U.S. cities. San Francisco is a "hotbed of political activity," he said.

Los Angeles had a 6.7 percent voter turnout in a May 2007 runoff election and New York City saw 8 percent in a runoff election Sept. 29. It is true that San Francisco's 35 percent turnout ranks well, but can't we do better?

What's mind-boggling about the lack of civic engagement in local elections is that this apathy is toward issues that affect San Franciscans directly -- things that are happening in our own backyard. If anything, these issues are what we want to have the most say in.

In the 2008 presidential election, 75 percent of the 81 percent turnout voted no on Proposition 8, which would ban same-sex marriage. People also only show up to vote with controversial, widely publicized issues on the ballot.

In a Public Policy Institute of California report, the biggest factor in different turnouts for a given election is the timing.

The report stated that by scheduling local elections to occur on the dates of statewide general or primary elections, localities make it easier for voters participating in the statewide election to vote in local contests as well.

But since that isn't the case this election, San Franciscans need to take a minute and educate themselves about the current issues that the city is facing. To not get our voice out is ultimately saying we don't care about what happens to our city, when in fact, these elections are specifically for us and for the betterment of our livelihood.