It’s kind of sad but here in NC there are a good number of state house and state senate elections that are uncontested. It’s a part time job with low pay, for some races only the incumbent runs.
I know personally it is because I don’t identify with my local area or neighborhood. I rent an apartment on the south side of Lansing, and work up on the north side. I take the expressway to and from work, and therefore rarely ever even enter the city of Lansing proper. Without having kids, property taxes, or the ambition to go outside and walk around the neighborhood (which is mostly pedestrian-unfriendly anyway), I see little impact that local elections would have upon my day-to-day life.
Roundabouts, they’re in April, not with the rest of them in December. So there’s that.
Until the last election there was no competition whatsoever for mayor - Mayor Bob had been in for 20 years and showed no signs of stopping. I can understand why you wouldn’t bother.
This November the number of voters here might not be much more than the number of candidates. We have nine candidates for mayor and three open city council seats. Usually the number running equals the number of vacancies. Candidates are recruited. “You can’t resign unless you find a replacement!” 
It’s puzzling, because six of the candidates have never attended a city council meeting. You’d think they’d show up once in awhile, if they were interested in how things work, if they had something to propose, or if they had a beef.
I’ve missed voting in some local elections unless there was a bond issue or school levy. If it’s just been candidates for office, I didn’t know enough about them to make a decision. The local papers publish a bio written by the candidate and they publish minutes of meetings, but those aren’t really helpful.
I live in a small town on the outskirts of big city. I can’t vote for an city issues, which would really be the only ones that affect me. And really, does it really affect me all that much on who the coroner and comptroller are?
The solution is voting by mail. I get a packet every election and vote at leisure.
Most people catch on to this after a while, and that’s why the older you are the more likely to vote.
I’d say, the older you are, the more time you have on your hands.
Sure, but the proportion of my property taxes which pays for schools is a relatively small portion of the total that I pay in income, sales, and property taxes. And, control over even that small portion is divided among several school boards, about which as a non-parent I don’t have the time or motivation to learn.
I never understood this myself. I think my neighborhood (which has a voter turnout of about %20 I’d say) has a higher than average turnout because of all the ex Soviets. Many of them are delighted to be able to vote.
I think it also helps that we have two alternative papers (City Paper, and Philadelphia Weekly) routinely reporting on city council, state senators and so forth.
I think I have missed all of two elections since I turned 18. Both were for minor local offices (count coroner and such). I would have voted had I not had the flu.