Turnout last month for a special election to fill the Toledo City Council seat previously held by Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson was abysmally low: Of more than 32,000 registered voters in District 4, only 4.4 percent — or 1,435 — actually exercised their franchise.

It’s disheartening when potential voters say they did not know there was an election, as The Blade recently reported. Others said they didn’t vote because they didn’t know enough about the candidates, or because they were disgruntled with politics in general.

The special election filled the seat vacated by Ms. Hicks-Hudson, who was elevated from the post of council president to mayor after D. Michael Collins died in February. Yvonne Harper, who got 602 votes, defeated three other candidates; she had a 209-vote margin over her closest competitor. District 4 covers central and downtown Toledo.

The Lucas County Board of Elections failed to publicize the special election adequately. Gina Kaczala, the board’s director, said her agency paid for an ad in The Blade and sent out notices to news media about the election. That’s not nearly enough.

In Detroit and other cities, elections officials advertise special elections on billboards and in radio and television spots that loop constantly for weeks before the vote. Unless you live under a rock, it would be impossible to declare ignorance of a special election.

The Lucas County board must adopt similar practices. One newspaper ad is inadequate, and the board cannot rely on media to do its job. Elections officials must work to educate citizens about the power of the democratic process.

Then voters must respond by going to the polls. Those who choose to sit out elections contribute to the dismal state of local government. At such a critical time in the Toledo region, it’s unacceptable to use lack of awareness of an election or the candidates as an excuse for apathy.

Residents need to engage in the political process and to let their voices be heard. Young people are seen as Toledo’s economic future, yet too many of them are not voting.

At the same time, efforts continue in Columbus and elsewhere to make voting more difficult in Ohio. The best way for younger generations to fight vote suppression is to go to the polls.

The special election is over, but there’s a September primary and a regular election in November for all six district council seats. There also will be a special mayoral election this fall.

The voices of all Toledoans, not a tiny minority, need to be heard. The Lucas County Board of Elections and other local officials have time to consider ways to mobilize local voters and erase their indifference.

But that effort needs to begin immediately.

First Published June 1, 2015, 4:00 a.m.